RFK Jr. cast doubt on a key vaccine. This country can't wait to get it

RFK Jr. cast doubt on a key vaccine. This country can't wait to get it

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In an unprecedented change, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reduced the number of vaccines recommended for all children on Monday. One of them is the hepatitis B vaccine , a three-dose series first given at birth that protects against a dangerous virus that relentlessly attacks the liver.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long questioned the safety and efficacy of the newborn dose, even linking an ingredient long used in the shot to autism without citing any evidence.

Last month, Kennedy called the U.S. a "high outlier" in the number of immunizations recommended for all children, a rationale used by the secretary to scrap the hepatitis B newborn vaccine. But according to a memo released by the Department of Health and Human Services last Friday, 20 peer nations — except Denmark and Finland — recommend that all kids receive the hepatitis B vaccine, either at birth or later in life.

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In the U.S. alone, public health experts attribute more than 1,800 deaths to hepatitis B each year.

"It's just really sad," says Dr. Samuel So , a surgeon specializing in hepatitis B at Stanford Medicine. He treats patients with liver cancer, which the virus can cause. "This has done so much damage to the reputation of the CDC."

Health experts agree that the ultimate result will be a decrease in the number of children who are vaccinated.

Other countries face a different situation: They're making a great effort to secure the life-saving vaccine vials.

The West African nation of Ghana is among the countries racing to obtain them. But the journey to a national immunization program has been a rocky path for the country — and a famous Ghanaian rapper has even stepped in to help.

The toll of hepatitis B in Ghana

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