Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)

ACIP is the CDC’s external advisory committee that develops recommendations on the use of vaccines in the US civilian population. Its recommendations, once adopted by the CDC director, shape the official immunization schedule and influence insurance coverage and state policies. - Reconstituted under RFK Jr.; driving changes to the childhood vaccine schedule starting with hepatitis B at birth

In December 2025, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)—reconstituted by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—voted 8–3 to end the universal recommendation for hepatitis B vaccination within 24 hours of all US newborns’ birth. On December 16, 2025, Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill formally adopted the recommendation, shifting to individual-based or shared clinical decision-making for infants of mothers testing negative for hepatitis B, with any first dose suggested no earlier than two months old; birth doses remain advised for infants of positive or unknown-status mothers.

Updated Feb 6

The expert body that advises CDC on vaccine recommendations, whose decisions shape official schedules and insurance coverage. - Reconstituted panel narrowing several vaccine recommendations under RFK Jr.’s influence

In his second term, President Donald Trump has moved to fundamentally recast U.S. childhood vaccination policy, arguing that the country gives too many shots compared with its peers. On December 5, 2025, after a federal vaccine advisory panel voted 8–3 to end the longstanding recommendation that all newborns receive a hepatitis B shot at birth, Trump signed a presidential memorandum ordering the Health and Human Services secretary and the CDC director to review the entire childhood schedule and align it where possible with “best practices from peer, developed countries.”

Updated Dec 11, 2025