Kennedy Jr.Avows Removing Hepatitis B Vaccine for Newborns

This new measure would put an end to this universal practice that the US maintains since 1991, and that according to health experts, has prevented more than 500,000 infections avoiding approximately 90,100 child deaths.

The vote of the group of experts had a result in favor of 8 to 3allowing women who test negative for the virus to decide individually whether they want their children to be vaccinated at birth.

Although the vote took place this Friday, it was postponed up to two times since September, since several members of the committee considered that they lacked sufficient information and data to make such a momentous decision.

Given this decision, more than 70 health policy experts and the American Public Health Association (APHA), which represents more than 23,000 members, have warned against the dangers of ending this immunizationwhich they describe as a “milestone in children’s health policy in the US.”

According to the organization, “eliminating the policy of universal newborn immunization and delaying the initial dose of HBV until later in childhood poses significant health risks.”

The American president, Donald Trump, has applauded this decision through his social network Truth, where he shared a message in which he described this decision as “very good.”

These changes are expected do not affect medical insurance coveragealthough it does represent a victory for the Department of Health led by Kennedy Jr., known for its anti-vaccine positions

The anti-vaccine policy

Donald Trump’s Secretary of Health has repeatedly questioned the safety and effectiveness of vaccinesdeclaring that “there is no vaccine that is safe and effective” and going so far as to affirm its direct relationship with autism.

Kennedy has even stated that he wishes he could go back in time and not vaccinate his children: “I would do anything for that. I would pay anything to be able to do it”

He once argued in a public statement that black and white people should have different vaccination schedules and schedules.

To promote this ideology that little by little has penetrated more into American society, according to studies since 2019 they consider it less important to vaccinate their children, Kennedy Jr. founded the association Children’s Health Defense which is in charge of promote anti-vaccine misinformation.

In other statements Kennedy linked the increase of chronic diseases and food allergies in the country with an “explosive vaccination schedule.

These denialist policies, along with their constant disregard for medical evidence, have caused an unusual rejection in the American political landscape: both Democrats and Republicans have found common ground in positioning themselves against them.

Among the most questioned decisions, the significant reduction in funding for vaccine development of new generation, a measure that public health experts consider especially serious due to its potential impact on the prevention of future pandemics and on the country’s ability to respond to new health threats.