The Department of Public Health said Wednesday it will accept guidance from its vaccine committee to recommend that all newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth. [Health News Illinois]

The adoption comes a day after IDPH’s Immunization Advisory Committee voted to recommend the guidance.

IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a statement that the recommendations will ensure that every newborn in Illinois “receives the strongest protection” against hepatitis B.

“Parents deserve clear, trustworthy, and science-based information when making decisions about their child’s health,” IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra said in a statement. “I am grateful to the (committee) for their thorough review of the latest data, which reaffirms that the hepatitis B vaccine at birth is safe, effective, and critical in preventing chronic liver disease and liver cancer later in life.”

Along with universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth, the recommendations also call for infants to receive all doses of the vaccine on time, and for all pregnant individuals to be screened for hepatitis B in the first trimester or their first prenatal visit.

Members of the state committee said Tuesday they did not see any public health concerns or problems established by the federal vaccine committee to reverse the longtime policy.

The federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted earlier this month to recommend that no newborns under two months old should receive the vaccine unless deemed at risk, and that the vaccine should only be accepted after conversations with medical professionals.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adopted federal guidance Tuesday evening, saying they support “individual-based decision-making.”

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