WASHINGTON — A federal vaccine advisory committee assembled by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist, voted on Friday to end the longtime recommendation that all U.S. babies get the hepatitis B vaccine on the day they’re born — a decision called “reckless” by the American Medical Association and dangerous by public health leaders, according to reports by AP and other sources. Hepatitis B can lead to liver failure, cancer and scarring, especially in infants and children.

Kennedy had previously fired the entire 17-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices panel and replaced it with an 11-member group, including several with anti-vaccination views. The panel decided to recommend the birth dose only for babies whose mothers test positive

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