President Trump recently said that newborns and babies should no longer get the hepatitis B vaccine—a position that goes against current medical guidelines. Pediatricians and infectious disease experts stress that infants are particularly susceptible to the viral infection. On October 1, 2025, SciLine interviewed Dr. Peyton Thompson, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Declared interests:
Dr. Thompson receive funding from the National Institutes of Health, Doris Duke Foundation, the Gates Foundation and Open Philanthropy, and reagents free-of-charge from Abbott Laboratories.
TV bundle includes:
Soundbite (SOT)
VOSOT script (can be used as-is or modified)
Raw, full-length interview video & log with timecodes (upon request via form below)
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Click for VOSOT script (can be used as-is or modified)
ANCHOR PRESIDENT TRUMP RECENTLY ANNOUNCED THERE’S NO REASON TO VACCINATE BABIES AGAINST HEPATITIS B.
DOCTORS DISAGREE.
VO HEPATITIS B IS A VIRUS THAT ATTACKS THE LIVER… AND THERE’S NO CURE.
IT CAN LEAD TO LIVER DAMAGE… CANCER… EVEN DEATH.
AT A SEPTEMBER NEWS CONFERENCE… PRESIDENT TRUMP CALLED IT A SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED VIRUS.
DOCTOR PEYTON THOMPSON… AN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PEDIATRICS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL… SAYS THAT’S NOT THE ONLY WAY IT SPREADS.
SHE SAYS THE VIRUS CAN PASS FROM MOTHER TO BABY AT BIRTH… OR THROUGH EVERYDAY ITEMS LIKE RAZOR BLADES AND NAIL CLIPPERS.
AND SHE SAYS BABIES WHO GET INFECTED EARLY… ARE FAR MORE LIKELY TO FACE SERIOUS HEALTH ISSUES LATER IN LIFE.
SOT Duration: 0:42 Super: Dr. Peyton Thompson – Assistant Professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill “It’s incredible to me that we are able, with a single dose of vaccine even, to prevent babies from being infected with this horrible virus, from living with liver infection, liver complications, that go unnoticed until much further on in life, this silent infection that is Hep B. And that ultimately we can prevent them from dying from a preventable liver disease.”
VO DOCTOR THOMPSON SAYS THE U-S REPORTED AROUND 20-THOUSAND HEPATITIS B CASES EACH YEAR BEFORE ROUTINELY VACCINATING BABIES FOR THE VIRUS.
NOW… THAT NUMBER IS CLOSER TO TWO-THOUSAND.
DOCTOR THOMPSON URGES PARENTS WITH QUESTIONS TO TALK WITH THEIR CHILD’S PEDIATRICIAN.
Raw, full-length interview covers:
What hepatitis b is and how it spreads;
Why the hepatitis b vaccine is recommended at birth;
The safety and effectiveness of the hepatitis b vaccine;
Research showing how the vaccine improves maternal and infant health;
Tips for parents navigating decisions about infant and childhood vaccinations.
