Ohio public health leaders raised concerns about a federal advisory panel's vote Friday to scale back the longstanding recommendation that all newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.

The officials said the move could reverse decades of progress against a potentially deadly virus.

Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, said during a news conference at Cleveland Clinic that the change sends a troubling message about a vaccine that has dramatically reduced dangerous infections in infants.

“Hepatitis B remains a very, very serious condition. It's a serious illness that causes very serious problems in a person's life if they're infected,” Vanderhoff said. “The vaccine that we have is very safe, it's very effective, and it has clearly reduced the ... numbe

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