WASHINGTON —

A federal advisory committee is changing a decades-old vaccine recommendation for newborns, but the decision is facing widespread backlash from medical leaders.

The panel was handpicked by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. earlier this year, and many of its members share his skepticism of vaccines.

The revamped Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is no longer recommending that all babies receive the hepatitis B shot on the day they're born. Instead, the panel is only recommending the birth dose if the mother tested positive for the liver infection, or if her status is unknown. For other parents who choose to wait, the committee suggested, on a vote of 8-3, starting the vaccination series at 2 months old.

Despite the shifting guidance, insurance plans

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