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Heated testimony as New Hampshire panel weighs removing newborn hepatitis B from required vaccines
Summary
Supporters of HB1719 say the bill aligns state policy with updated ACIP guidance and restores parental choice; DHHS, physicians and medical groups warn removing the birth‑dose requirement risks reversing decades of progress against pediatric hepatitis B and could increase outbreak costs.
Representative Kelly Patenza introduced House Bill 1719, saying it would remove the universal newborn hepatitis B birth dose from the state’s list of required immunizations to match updated ACIP guidance and restore individualized, risk‑based decisionmaking. “This bill simply aligns state policy with that updated guidance,” Patenza told the Senate committee during the opening testimony.
Opponents included the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and a string of pediatricians, infectious‑disease clinicians and medical organizations. Megan Hedi, the Bureau chief for Infectious Disease Control, told the committee that hepatitis B is highly infectious…
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