{
  "id": 15655615,
  "title": "Hepatitis B Cases Could Surge Under New Vaccine Guidelines, Study Finds",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/19/hepatitis-b-cases-could-surge-under-new-vaccine-guidelines-study-finds",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-19T21:00:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Time",
    "slug": "time",
    "url": "https://time.com/article/2026/10/19/hepatitis-b-vaccine-recommendations-study/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Hepatitis B, a virus that can cause lifelong liver damage and even cancer, could see a substantial rise in cases in the U.S. if new vaccine guidelines are implemented, a new study warns. The CDC, under the Trump Administration, recently reversed its recommendation to vaccinate all newborns for hepatitis B, stating that parents and doctors should make a \"shared decision-making\" decision about when to administer the first dose. A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine used computer modeling to simulate the impact of this change on the U.S. population. The researchers found that if only 26% of children received the first dose of the vaccine, chronic hepatitis B cases could increase by a staggering 225%. Early infection can lead to a 25% chance of developing liver cancer later in life. While the American Academy of Pediatrics still recommends vaccination at birth, the study suggests that delayed vaccination could have significant public health consequences.",
  "summary": "Delaying the newborn hepatitis B vaccine by even a couple of months would have detrimental effects at a population level, new models show.",
  "key_points": [
    "New vaccine guidelines could increase Hepatitis B cases in U.S.",
    "CDC reversed recommendation to vaccinate all newborns.",
    "Study predicts 225% rise in chronic cases with 26% first dose compliance."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}