Taipei: Taiwan will not emulate the United States’ decision to end universal hepatitis B vaccinations for newborns, given that over half of the infections in the country result from mother-to-child transmission, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced.

According to Focus Taiwan, the decision was made after consultations with experts from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). These experts advised maintaining the vaccination policy, which has been in place since July 1986, to further reduce the prevalence of hepatitis B. Lin Ming-cheng, a spokesperson for the CDC, emphasized the importance of the policy in preventing infections that could lead to severe health issues such as cirrhosis or liver cancer. Under the policy, newborns in Taiwan receive three doses of the hepatitis B vaccine at birth, one month, and six months, a regimen that has significantly reduced the hepatitis B carrier rate among children aged six and under to 0.8 percent from 10.5 percent before 1986.

Last year, the vaccination rates among newborns for the three doses were reported as 93.1 percent, 98.9 percent, and 97.9 percent, respectively. Lin highlighted the necessity of the policy given the high rate of transmission from mother to child and noted that infection rates remain elevated among those born before July 1986.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recently voted to end universal recommendations for hepatitis B vaccinations, suggesting instead that vaccination decisions should be made on an individual basis. The CDC website explained that the decision was influenced by a study indicating that the universal birth dose had a minimal effect on the decline in acute hepatitis B cases, in comparison to improvements in medical practices such as blood screening and needle exchange programs. Additionally, only 0.5 percent of pregnant women in the U.S. test positive for hepatitis B.

The U.S. decision has faced criticism from health professionals, with some arguing that there is no evidence against the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. A New York Times quote from Michael Osterholm, a public health expert, expressed distrust in federal health authorities’ vaccine policies following the decision. The Guardian cited a 2023 study in Public Health Reports that linked infant immunization to a 99 percent decline in acute hepatitis B cases in younger populations between 1990 and 2019.

In Taiwan, medical experts supported the CDC’s decision, citing the vaccine’s efficacy in protecting public health. Huang Chien-hsien, a physician, noted that the U.S. policy shift might be due to lower hepatitis B prevalence and cost considerations, but emphasized that Taiwan’s circumstances are different. Lee Ping-ing, another physician and ACIP convener, explained that newborns are at risk of infection during birth through contact with their mother’s bodily fluids, and delaying the vaccine could fail to prevent this transmission. Despite a slightly weaker immune response in newborns, studies have shown that the vaccine still offers over 90 percent protection, affirming the policy’s effectiveness.