New York City Health Department Reiterates Importance of Hepatitis B Birth Dose for All Newborns
Guidance Aligns With the American Academy of Pediatrics and Is Supported by the Northeast Public Health Collaborative
NYC Health Department and NYS Department of Health Issue Evidence-Based Guidance to Health Care Providers
November 24, 2025 — The New York City Health Department is firmly committed to maintaining the existing hepatitis B vaccine schedule to protect infants and children from life-threatening, yet preventable, hepatitis B infection. The schedule calls for a hepatitis B vaccine birth dose within 24 hours of delivery, regardless of the hepatitis B infection status of the birth parent, and for all children to complete the full vaccination series within 18 months. The safety and effectiveness of the hepatitis B vaccine schedule is well established.
“For nearly four decades, the hepatitis B vaccine has protected countless infants from the life-threatening consequences of hepatitis B infections,” said NYC Health Department Acting Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse. “The New York City Health Department strongly recommends maintaining the current vaccination schedule, beginning with the birth dose, to continue to protect our youngest New Yorkers from preventable illnesses. Delaying this effective vaccine puts infants at risk.”
“Hepatitis B puts infants at serious risk — 90 percent of infected newborns may develop chronic disease, and as many as one in four could die from complications,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said. “Vaccinating at birth is essential to protect our youngest New Yorkers.”
The recommendation is based on an extensive review of current scientific data and medical professional guidance related to the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns and aligns with the American Academy of Pediatrics Recommended Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule. Vaccination within 24 hours of birth followed by additional doses is highly effective at preventing infection in infancy and protecting children for life, whether from perinatal transmission or transmission from caregivers and others. Of infants infected in the first year of life, 90 percent will go on to develop chronic hepatitis B. One in four people infected with hepatitis B virus during childhood die from liver cirrhosis or liver cancer later in life.
The recommendation also reflects a consensus statement from the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, a coalition of public health agencies (including the NYC Health Department) working together to share expertise, improve coordination, enhance capacity, strengthen regional readiness, and protect evidence-based public health. The group’s shared goal is to protect the health, safety and well-being of all residents by providing information based on science, data, and evidence, while working to ensure equitable access to vaccines, medications, and services.
Today, the NYC Health Department and the NYS Department of Health issued a joint Health Advisory to health care providers in New York City and New York state that reinforces key information about the safety of the vaccine and the importance of the hepatitis B vaccination in infants.
The NYC Health Department is issuing its recommendation prior to the scheduled meeting of the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Dec. 4 and 5, when ACIP is set to discuss — and potentially vote on — changing the hepatitis B vaccine schedule for infants.
The hepatitis B vaccine birth dose and completion of the hepatitis B vaccine series in the first 18 months of life protects infants and children during a vulnerable time of their lives. Delaying vaccination misses a crucial period of potential exposure, putting infants at risk. Health care providers should continue to offer hepatitis B vaccine to all newborns at birth and administer the full vaccination series.
For more information, visit the hepatitis B page of the NYC Health Department website.
###
052-25
MEDIA CONTACT: PressOffice@health.nyc.gov