(12-11-25) At this week’s Auglaize County Board of Health’s regular meeting, county medical director Dr. Juan Torres showed his concern with the recent CDC vote and explained that in the 30 years since the hepatitis B vaccine was commercially introduced, there is —

“no documented data that shows (it has) produced any harm.”

Hepatitis B is a serious liver infection caused by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). For most people, hepatitis B is short term, also called acute. Acute hepatitis B lasts less than six months. But for others, the infection lasts more than six months and is called chronic. Chronic hepatitis B raises the risk of liver failure, liver cancer and serious scarring of the liver called cirrhosis.

Most adults with hepatitis B recover fully, even if their symptoms are bad. Infants and children are more likely to develop a chronic, long-lasting hepatitis B virus infection.

Torres went on to say –

“We have a disease that is very contagious, that can destroy the liver, or that can produce cancer in the liver. The vaccine can be given early in life and protect that individual for many, many, many years,” he said. “No matter what your political situation, or what you believe or what newscast you hear, the hepatitis B vaccine is a good vaccine and it’s worth it to take it and give to your children.”

Daily Standard– Auglaize health board skeptical of new hep B guidance

Torres is talking about this recent CDC press release—

ATLANTA — December 5, 2025 — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) today voted 8 to 3 to recommend individual-based decision-making for parents deciding whether to give the hepatitis B vaccine, including the birth dose, to infants born to women who test negative for the virus. For those infants not receiving the birth dose, ACIP suggested in its recommendation that the initial dose be administered no earlier than two months of age.

Individual-based decision-making, known on the CDC immunization schedules as shared clinical decision-making, means that parents and health care providers should consider vaccine benefits, vaccine risks, and infection risks, and that parents consult with their health care provider and decide when or if their child will begin the hepatitis B vaccine series. The committee said parents and health care providers should consider whether there are infection risks such as a household member who has hepatitis B or frequent contact with persons who have emigrated from areas where hepatitis B is common.

ACIP also voted to recommend that when evaluating the need for a subsequent hepatitis B vaccine dose in children, parents should consult with health care providers to decide whether to test antibody levels to hepatitis surface antigen to evaluate adequacy of protection through serology results.

These recommendations on hepatitis B immunization maintain consistency of coverage for all payment mechanisms, including entitlement programs such as the Vaccines for Children Program, Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicaid, and Medicare, as well as insurance plans through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace. ACIP on September 19, 2025, voted to recommend that all pregnant women be tested for the hepatitis B virus, a test that is covered across all insurance programs.

Today’s votes were preceded yesterday by presentations to ACIP on the hepatitis B disease burden, vaccine safety, and comparative nation immunization policies as well as briefings from representatives of the vaccine manufacturers.

A presentation from Cynthia Nevison, Ph.D., on the decline of the hepatitis B disease burden since 1985 concluded that the universal birth dose contribution to acute case decline is likely small. It identified sharp declines in post-transfusion hepatitis B transmission due to advanced blood screening, improved dialysis practices, and needle exchange programs. It also acknowledged a 2019 study that found 57.9% of estimated births to women who test positive for the hepatitis B surface antigen were attributable to non–US-born women, mainly from high-endemicity countries. The study reported that 0.5% of pregnancies in the U.S. are to women who test positive for the hepatitis B surface antigen, which is the most significant risk to newborns for being infected with the virus.

ACIP Childhood/Adolescent Schedule Workgroup Chair Vicky Pebsworth, Ph.D., RN, presented the policy context and historical and international comparison of the immunization schedule for hepatitis B. The United States’ universal recommendation of the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose is an outlier among developed countries with low hepatitis B prevalence.

Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services and CDC Acting Director Jim O’Neill

“The American people have benefited from the committee’s well-informed, rigorous discussion about the appropriateness of a vaccination in the first few hours of life,”

A recommendation from ACIP becomes part of the CDC immunization schedule once it is adopted by the CDC director.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC’s world-leading experts protect lives and livelihoods, national security and the U.S. economy by providing timely, commonsense information, and rapidly identifying and responding to diseases, including outbreaks and illnesses. CDC drives science, public health research, and data innovation in communities across the country by investing in local initiatives to protect everyone’s health.

Background

Medical Director

Juan V. Torres-Cordero, MD, MPH: Dr. Torres-Cordero is a public health & general preventive medicine specialist in Saint Marys, OH. He graduated from the Ponce School of Medicine in 1988 and is currently affiliated with Grand Lake Health Systems. Dr. Torres-Cordero is board certified in Public Health & General Preventive Medicine.