FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 5, 2025
Media Contact:
pr@aafp.org
The AAFP strongly supports maintaining universal Hep B vaccination at birth, and we call on the CDC to ensure this life-saving protection remains the standard of care. The benefits of protecting every newborn from Hepatitis B far outweigh the risks. Before routine vaccination at birth, 18,000 U.S. children contracted HepB each year by age 10. This debilitating illness is not confined to high-risk groups — it can spread through something as small as a cut or an item with trace amounts of blood.
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About the American Academy of Family Physicians
The AAFP is the largest national association of family physicians, representing 128,300 physicians and medical students. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on impactful care for people of all ages, races and genders across all medical conditions. The AAFP supports every stage of a family physician's career and provides evidence-based resources, advocacy and community to empower family medicine. To learn more, visit aafp.org. For information about health care, medical conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP’s patient education website, familydoctor.org.