Illinois health officials announced Tuesday they will maintain the recommendation for all newborns to receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.

The Illinois Department of Public Health reaffirmed its support for universal hepatitis B vaccination following recommendations from the Illinois Immunization Advisory Committee, establishing the state’s position just days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention adopted controversial changes to its longstanding policy.​

The decision comes in response to the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voting 8-3 earlier this month to change recommendations that had been in place since 1991. Under the new federal guidance, parents of babies born to hepatitis B-negative mothers can now consult with healthcare providers to decide whether their newborn should receive the birth dose or delay vaccination until at least two months of age.

Since universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth began in 1991, infections in U.S. children have dropped by 99 percent. The dramatic decline underscores the effectiveness of the vaccination strategy that Illinois officials are determined to maintain.​

Hepatitis B is a serious viral infection that can lead to acute or chronic liver disease, cancer and early death. Approximately 90 percent of infants infected at birth or during their first year of life will develop chronic hepatitis B infection, and about 25 percent of those individuals will die from chronic liver disease.

Health officials emphasized that hepatitis B can be transmitted not only from mother to infant at birth but also through contact with infected family members or caregivers. An estimated half of Americans with hepatitis B don’t know they’re infected, which is why previous attempts to limit vaccination based solely on maternal infection status proved less effective than universal birth dosing.​

While the CDC recommends that pregnant women be tested for hepatitis B, about 16 percent of expecting mothers fall through the cracks. The birth dose has served as a critical safety net in the healthcare system to protect against gaps in prenatal screening, missed diagnoses, communication errors and inconsistent follow-up.

The law ensures that state-regulated health insurance issuers must cover vaccines recommended by IDPH, even if they extend beyond CDC schedules, and reduces the minimum age from 7 to 3 for pharmacist administration of certain vaccines.​

Beyond the birth dose recommendation, IDPH reaffirmed several other guidelines, including that infants should receive all doses of the hepatitis B vaccine series on time, all pregnant individuals should be screened for hepatitis B in the first trimester or first prenatal visit, and guidance for flu, COVID-19 and RSV immunizations issued in September 2025 remains in effect.

The federal policy change has created a fracturing in U.S. vaccine recommendations.

Many medical experts and organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, opposed the federal change, saying it will leave young children at risk of an infection that can cause lifelong illness. Before the birth dose was recommended, 20,000 newborns per year were infected with hepatitis B. That number has now dropped to fewer than 20 cases annually.