ATLANTA >> A revamped panel of U.S. vaccine advisers appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. today decided not to go ahead with a planned vote that would have delayed the first hepatitis B vaccine dose for newborns, citing inconsistency in the proposed policy changes.

It was not clear how the committee would proceed on the issue going forward.

The group, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on U.S. vaccination schedules, on Thursday discussed changing the nation’s more than three-decades-old recommendation that babies receive the shot at birth, which has led to a dramatic decrease in rates of the disease.

While many committee members appeared to support the change during that discussion, medical experts and patient advocates warned during the public c

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