Dr. Angela Ulrich
University of Minnesota
Declared interests:
None.
Group media availability: Hepatitis B birth dose safety
What is Experts on Camera?
On December 5, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to reverse the recommendation that newborns receive a dose of the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth. On December 4, 2025, SciLine hosted a media availability with Dr. Rochelle Walensky, senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Dr. Angela Ulrich, researcher and assistant professor at the Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota. They are authors of a new report covering the scientific evidence behind the hepatitis B birth dose.
These resources are free to use. No attribution to SciLine is required.
Downloadable video of the soundbite
High definition (mp4, 1280x720)
- Click for transcribed SOT (can be used as-is or modified)
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SOT
Duration: 0:43
Super: Dr. Angela Ulrich, University of Minnesota
“The evidence that we found, and the information linked in our report, really overwhelmingly supports keeping the universal birthdose recommendation unchanged. And that our concern is that delaying the birthdose will increase the number of preventable infections that we see in infants and young kids, will reverse decades of progress, and will expose more children to a virus that can have lifelong effects. So our hope is that ACIP will uphold the proven science based recommendation and that infants and and parents of infants can continue to have the choice to vaccinate their infant within those first twenty four hours of life.”SOT
Duration: 0:43
Super: Dr. Rochelle Walensky – Harvard Medical School
“For decades, we have had a unity of voice where your local doctor probably or your local pharmacist will recommend a vaccine based on what they’re seeing from healthcare providers, what they are learning from healthcare providers, what they are learning from societies and other medical experts, and all that is trickling down. And for the most part, there has been a unity in that voice that has also been unified with the federal government. And right now, unfortunately, that voice is really unified in the medical societies and down to your local pediatrician and your local pharmacist. And those are the voices that I would continue to listen to.”
Raw, full-length interview and transcript covers:
- The implications of ACIP’s vote on the care that newborn babies will receive;
- Data on the safety and effectiveness of the hepatitis B vaccine;
- The long-term health consequences of hepatitis B infection;
- Data about the impact hepatitis B vaccination at birth has had on children’s health since its introduction in 1991;
- How delaying hepatitis B vaccination would change children’s health outcomes;
- Why the United States has recommended universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth, while other countries have not; and
- Evidence on claims made by ACIP’s chair that the aluminum adjuvants in vaccines are associated with asthma, autoimmune diseases, and eczema.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky
Harvard University
Declared interests:
Dr Walensky reported receiving fees from Madryn Asset Management for serving as a senior policy advisor, Consonance Capital for serving as a senior advisory board member, and Doris Duke Foundation for serving as a trustee; consulting fees from Infectious Diseases Society of America; nonfinancial support from The Carter Center for serving on the board of directors; and serving as the Bayer Fellow in Health and Technology at the American Academy in Berlin (Bayer does not make vaccine products for infants available in the US), all outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported.
