Harrisburg, PA – The Shapiro Administration today reaffirmed its commitment to stand with medical experts to ensure parents can protect children from lifelong liver disease by strongly encouraging the continued administration of the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.
Despite decades of evidence and strong opposition from medical and public health experts, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) — which advises the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — today created confusion around whether newborns should receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.
“The scientific evidence is clear that vaccination of newborns against hepatitis B is important because when infants get infected with the virus, either from transmission from mother to baby or after birth due to close contact with an infected person, they have a 90% chance of developing lifelong liver disease, compared to less than a 5% chance for adults who get infected,” said Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen. “We know from experience that when vaccines are recommended and accessible, disease declines; when access falters, preventable infections return.”
Since 1991, when the CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) first recommended hepatitis B vaccination of newborns, hepatitis B infections in children decreased by 99%.
In fact, no child under 4 years old in Pennsylvania has contracted hepatitis B since 2019 due to the high rates of hepatitis B vaccination.
Hepatitis B is a bloodborne virus that can infect children and adults and can be transmitted to infants in the womb or acquired by infants after birth through close contact with a person who is infected with the virus.
Infants are uniquely vulnerable to this infection because tens of thousands of adults in Pennsylvania and across the nation continue to live with chronic hepatitis B infection.
Chronic hepatitis B infection has a high chance of leading to scarring of the liver, liver failure, liver cancer, and even death.
“Pennsylvania has nearly eliminated Hepatitis B infections in young children because of the high rate of vaccination at birth. The evidence is clear that these vaccines are safe and effective, and any attempt to cause doubt or confuse parents or caregivers puts vulnerable infants at risk of an illness that has lifelong, deadly consequences. I urge parents and doctors to continue following the clear recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other medical experts, to vaccinate newborns against Hepatitis B,” said Pennsylvania Secretary of Human Services Dr. Val Arkoosh.
“Insurance companies in Pennsylvania will continue to cover the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns, full stop.” said Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphreys. “Pennsylvania companies have already committed to continue coverage through at least 2026 in the commercial markets, and PID expects insurers to continue to realize the benefit of full coverage of the hepatitis B vaccine at birth in future years.”
Prior to the ACIP meeting on the topic, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen, Secretary of Human Services Dr. Val Arkoosh, and Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphreys, submitted comments to the committee highlighting decades of scientific evidence that clearly demonstrate a steep decline in cases of pediatric hepatitis B due to the vaccine.
In October, Governor Josh Shapiro signed Executive Order 2025-02, which protects access to life-saving, evidence-based, safe vaccinations in Pennsylvania and protects families’ freedoms to make their own informed health care decision. The Executive Order:
- Requires state agencies to align vaccine guidance with trusted medical experts;
- Ensures coverage of recommended vaccines through private insurance to the fullest extent of the Pennsylvania Insurance Department’s authority;
- Directs the Department of Human Service to take necessary steps, in accordance with law, to ensure coverage of recommended vaccines through Medicaid;
- Establishes a Vaccine Education Workgroup to strengthen communication and combat misinformation;
- Directs the Departments of Aging and Education to ensure older adults and schools have access to evidence-based guidance on vaccines; and,
- Launches www.pa.gov/vaccines as a centralized resource for Pennsylvania residents.
For more information on vaccinations in Pennsylvania, visit www.pa.gov/vaccines.
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