Illinois’ vaccine advisory committee will meet later this month to review the latest federal changes to guidance for the Hepatitis B vaccine. [Health News Illinois]

Friday's announcement of the December 16 meeting came hours after the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to remove a long-standing recommendation that all newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.

Department of Public Health Director Dr. Sameer Vohra noted they previously adopted the CDC immunization schedules as revised on August 7, which recommends hepatitis B vaccination for all newborns.

“As a pediatrician and a parent, I am deeply concerned by this shift away from universal newborn vaccination, particularly in the absence of any new scientific evidence to support such a change,” Vohra said. “In Illinois, we remain committed to science-based public health policy.”

The Department of Health and Human Services said the change to the universal newborn vaccination will embolden parents to have further say in whether their children receive the vaccine.

“Parents should consult with healthcare providers to decide whether to test antibody levels to hepatitis surface antigen to evaluate adequacy of protection through (vaccines),” the agency said after the vote.

Advocates decried the vote, noting that Hepatitis B infection among U.S. children dropped by 99 percent since the vaccine policy went into effect over 30 years ago.

Gov. JB Pritzker last week signed a law that strengthens the Department of Public Health’s Immunization Advisory Committee, including an outline for how the group can advise the state agency on ways to control diseases through vaccines or other medical countermeasures.

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