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#ACIP votes to change the #hepatitisB #vaccine birth dose recommendation, ending the universal birth dose policies that have almost eliminated neonatal hepatitis B infection, cut pediatric infections by more than 95%, and prevented more than 6 million infections / a million hospitalizations.

Dr. Cody Meissner, #pediatric #id doctor (the only one on #ACIP), reflecting on the committee's mandate to first do no harm: "We are doing harm by changing this wording, and I vote no."

Joseph Hibbeln: "This has a great potential to cause harm, and I simply hope that this committee will accept its responsiblity when this harm is caused -- and I vote no." Roger Malone: "Roger that."

Now, after a bewildering discussion where members of the ACIP committee appear to not understand the difference between live viral vaccines like yellow fever and inactivated vaccines like hepatitis B, the committee votes on a recommendation to deviate from the established 3-dose primary series.

#ACIP votes 6-4 to recommend that children could just get one dose of vaccine and then have post-vaccination serologic testing to see if more vaccines should be given. Multiple members remind the committee that there have been no studies or evidence to understand if this strategy would work.

No votes: Pollak, Meissner, Blackburn, Hibbeln. Stein abstains.

Malone calls for a bathroom break and has to be reminded that there's a third vote. There's now a third vote but several members, including Malone, do not appear to have any idea what the language is that they're voting on or what it would entail. Absolute scenes.

The vote is to "approve the updated VFC resolution for prevention of hepatitis B".

Meanwhile a totally different slide is shown indicating that the "purpose of the resolution is to update the Recommended Vaccination Schedule and Intervals section to reflect the updated ACIP recommendations about the use of Hepatitis B vaccine".

Multiple members including Hibblen, Pagano, Meissner abstain, noting that they don't actually know what they're voting on or what the ramifications would be of a vote either way.