SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Public Health today released the following statement from Director Dr. Sameer Vohra in response to the actions of the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP):“Since universal newborn vaccination began in 1991, hepatitis B infection among U.S. children dropped by 99%. Today, the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to remove its long-standing recommendation that all newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. For decades, the best available science has shown that administering the hepatitis B vaccine at birth is safe, effective, and critical in preventing chronic liver disease and liver cancer later in life.“As a pediatrician and a parent, I am deeply concerned by this shift away from universal

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