Massachusetts will continue to recommend that newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine, despite a controversial vote by a federal vaccine panel , the Healey administration said Friday.

“This is about the health and safety of our children. The hepatitis B vaccine is safe, effective and lifesaving. It has been recommended for newborns since 1991 and has resulted in a 99 percent decrease in pediatric infection rates,” Gov. Maura Healey said in a statement.

Following through on a widely expected move, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices scrapped its years-long recommendation that all U.S. babies get the hepatitis B vaccine on the day they’re born.

A loud chorus of medical and public health leaders decried the actions of the panel

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