Change marks an abrupt end to 30 years of established medical guidance and follows vote earlier this month

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday ended a long-standing recommendation that all US newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine.

The agency’s move follows a vote from health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine advisory panel that a birth dose should only be given to newborns whose mothers test positive for hepatitis B or whose status is unknown.

The CDC will now advise parents to consult a healthcare provider to decide whether infants born to hepatitis B-negative mothers should get the vaccine, including the birth dose.