5 Michigan health systems continue hepatitis B vaccines for newborns
After decades of guidance that recommended that all newborns receive a hepatitis B vaccine the day they are born, a federal vaccine advisory committee voted to change that.
On Friday, the panel suggested a shift in the schedule, recommending parents wait at least two months to immunize babies who have a low risk of contracting the virus.
In response, McLaren Health Care, Munson Healthcare, Henry Ford Health, Corewell Health and University of Michigan Health shared their plans to continue offering the vaccine to any parents who want it for their children.
Dr. Matthew Sims is the director of infectious diseases research at Corewell Health, one of the health systems that is standing firm in its current recommendations.
"Who do you want to trust? Do you want to trust the doctors who have taken care of you for years and years, the people who are part of your community, the people who have, you know, an active interest in keeping everybody in Michigan well?" said Sims.
"One of the reasons the kids are so healthy is because we vaccinate. If that stopped today, then, shortly, we will start seeing a resurgence of these diseases, and we will start seeing all the bad consequences."
CBS News Detroit reached out to other Metro Detroit providers who made the same decision.
In a statement, Henry Ford Health said, "Our recommendations about the hepatitis B vaccine currently remain unchanged. Any proposed changes to the newborn vaccine schedule would need to be thoroughly reviewed by the system's immunization committee."
Henry Ford Health, Corewell Health and University of Michigan Health said they would follow the guidance of the American Academy of Pediatrics going forward.
CBS News Detroit reached out to the Michigan chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which said, "Expressing our disappointment is not a reaction to discomfort but a response grounded firmly in the absence of any data that would warrant weakening a recommendation that has saved countless lives."
For nurse practitioners like Natasha Weems, their concerns lie in how these decisions could impact some of our most vulnerable families.
"Although the parent has tested negative, we have to understand fully what those circumstances and barriers could be, and we want to make sure that the infant, that the newborn, is safe and that we're making well-informed decisions," said Weems.
While the panel was appointed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the committee's recommendation has not been accepted by the agency's director.
While the committee can make recommendations, no health system is bound by its rulings.