Following today’s vote by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to discontinue the universal recommendation that all newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth, the American Nurses Association (ANA) reiterates its strong support for vaccinations as crucial to safeguarding the health of individuals, families, and communities.
According to the American Nurses Association’s (2025) Position Statement on Immunizations, “effective protection of the public health mandates that all individuals receive immunizations against vaccine-preventable diseases according to the best and most current evidence.” For almost 30 years, a key component of this protection has been the hepatitis B vaccine’s universal birth dosage. According to World Health Organization data, the hepatitis B vaccine is quite successful, preventing over 95 percent of infections when given as advised and shielding almost all babies from chronic hepatitis B.
“The hepatitis B birth dose has long represented one of the great success stories in public health,” stated ANA President Dr. Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, FAAN. “Nurses have witnessed firsthand the power of prevention. As the most trusted profession, we have both an ethical and professional obligation to advocate for evidence-based immunization practices that protect the most vulnerable. This is especially true for newborns, who depend on nurses to keep them safe.
Immunizations are an essential public health intervention and a crucial part of primary disease prevention, according to ANA. Nurses must support, inform, and counsel patients to follow vaccination schedules that are advised by reliable research and the patient’s healthcare physician, outlining their necessity and the implications for public health.
Strong scientific evidence, an open review process, and extensive stakeholder engagement—including nurses and other frontline health workers who are crucial to vaccine administration and education—must serve as the foundation for any changes to the current immunization recommendations.
“Decades of nursing leadership and public health progress have shown that vaccines save lives,” stated Dr. Mensik Kennedy. “ANA stands ready to work with federal agencies, scientific experts, and our partners across health care to ensure that vaccination policies continue to reflect the best available evidence and uphold our shared responsibility to prevent disease and protect the public.”
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