One of the first things the Center for Disease Control (CDC) is expected to do in 2026 is revamp the pediatric vaccine schedule. At the top of Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy’s list is the vaccine for Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), a disease that Asian Americans have an 8-fold greater risk of dying from compared to Caucasian Americans.
Over 296 million people in the world, and one in 12 Asian adults in the U.S., carry HBV. Chronic HBV infections can be silent and asymptomatic for years until extensive liver scarring (cirrhosis), liver failure, or liver cancer occurs. Each year, approximately 820,000 people, including 3,000 Americans, die from HBV-related causes. This is a startling rate of approximately one person in the world dying from HBV every 40 seconds.
Given the devastating consequences of the disease, the World Health Organization has set the goal of eliminating HBV globally by 2030. In response to this announcement, California became the first state in the country to mandate primary health clinics to offer every adult a free, one-time, voluntary HBV diagnostic test. Signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, Assembly Bill 789 also required health facilities to provide or recommend follow-up treatment options after positive diagnoses. Ever since the law was passed three years ago, the HBV diagnosis rate in the Stanford University hospital system alone has increased an impressive six-fold.
However, in late December 2025, Secretary Kennedy’s team announced they will no longer recommend that all newborns get vaccinated with the HBV vaccine. That week, KTSF, the largest Asian-language TV station in the country, immediately did two segments on the risk of this new vaccination regulation to Asian American newborns. I joined the interview with KTSF news anchor and President of the California Chinese Media Association, Mina Li, alongside Stanford University Surgeon and Director of the Asan Liver Center, Dr. Samuel So. We discussed in English and Cantonese how newborns have an immature immune system which makes them susceptible to HBV if they come in direct contact with blood or saliva from a chronic HBV carrier. Therefore, giving the HBV vaccine at birth is critical to prevent a newborn from becoming chronically infected with HBV.
It is imperative to raise awareness for the potentially devastating ramifications of the CDC’s new policy. Young families, especially those throughout the AAPI community who are most at risk for HBV, can benefit from testing themselves for HBV. If any caregiver—not just pregnant mothers, but also expectant fathers, doting grandparents, and dedicated nannies— is HBV positive, they should not only be treated before their infection progresses to liver cancer, but also insist their newborn receive the HBV vaccine at birth.