# Kennedy's Vaccine Plan Could Cause Surge in Hepatitis B, Study Finds
A new analysis reveals the public health consequences of removing newborn hepatitis B vaccination from routine immunization schedules, the policy position advocated by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now serving as secretary of health and human services.
Researchers modeling the impact of discontinuing birth-dose hepatitis B vaccination found the policy would increase chronic hepatitis B infections by up to 83 percent. The study projects a substantial rise in cases among infants and young children who would no longer receive protection during their most vulnerable period.
Hepatitis B transmission to newborns occurs most commonly through vertical transmission from infected mothers during childbirth. The virus can persist as a chronic infection in up to 90 percent of infants exposed perinatally, compared to only 5 to 10 percent of infected adults. Chronic hepatitis B infection increases lifelong risk for cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver failure. Infants infected at birth face the highest burden of disease.
The United States currently recommends hepatitis B vaccination at birth, followed by additional doses at one to two months and six months of age. This schedule protects newborns before other routes of transmission become possible and provides nearly 95 percent effectiveness in preventing infection.
Kennedy has promoted vaccine skepticism throughout his career, questioning the safety and necessity of routine childhood immunizations. His position on hepatitis B vaccination reflects broader concerns within the anti-vaccine movement about vaccine schedules recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The modeling study did not identify researchers by name in the available reporting. The analysis uses data from the CDC and published epidemiological literature to project infection rates under different vaccination scenarios.
Hepatitis B vaccination has reduced new infections in the United States by over 80 percent since universal newborn vaccination began in 1991. Before the vaccine, approximately 200,000 infections occurred annually. Current rates stand below 4,000 cases per year.
Public health officials have raised alarms about vaccine policy changes under Kennedy's leadership. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the CDC all affirm current hepatitis B vaccination recommendations based on decades of safety data and disease prevention evidence.
Discontinuing birth-dose hepatitis B vaccination would affect infants born to mothers with unknown or unrevealed hepatitis B status, since approximately 50 percent of mothers with chronic infection lack formal diagnosis. These newborns would face infection risk without the protective vaccine.
Kennedy's confirmation as health secretary in January 2025 prompted concerns about potential vaccine policy reversals. His department oversees the CDC and influences immunization recommendations through the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
The study results demonstrate quantifiable health consequences of vaccine policy changes based on specific modeling assumptions. Implementation of Kennedy's vaccine recommendations would likely produce measurable increases in preventable infectious disease cases across multiple conditions currently addressed through routine vaccination schedules.