Study: More parents refusing hepatitis B vaccine for newborns

The rates of parents refusing newborn hepatitis B virus vaccines more than doubled from 2018 to 2025, a JAMA Network Open study found. The retrospective study of 93,163 newborns analyzed birth data from three centers at the University of Pennsylvania health system. They found 9,400 newborns (100.9 per 1,000) did not receive hepatitis B vaccination. The hepatitis B vaccine prevents infection of the hepatitis B virus, which can cause lifelong liver disease or progress to liver cancer when acquired during the perinatal period. Rising hepatitis B vaccine refusal rates could cause a resurgence of hepatitis B infections. The researchers also found 83% of newborns whose parents refused vitamin K prophylaxis refused hepatitis B vaccination, likely due to parents refusing one preventive intervention often refusing others. (Healio article, 8/31/26)