Matthew J. Weidman, M.D.

12/08/2025

12/05/2025

“This irresponsible and purposely misleading guidance will lead to more hepatitis B infections in infants and children. I want to reassure parents and clinicians that there is no new or concerning information about the hepatitis B vaccine that is prompting this change, nor has children’s risk of contracting hepatitis B changed. Instead, this is the result of a deliberate strategy to sow fear and distrust among families,” said American Academy of Pediatrics President Susan J. Kressly.

In medicine, the shared clinical decision-making designation is not intended for interventions with clear, evidence-based benefits to a broad population, such as a safe vaccine that offers an important benefit to all newborns. Instead, a universal recommendation – such as what AAP continues to make for the hepatitis B birth dose – offers clear guidance to pediatricians and families that the vaccine is important and beneficial. Pediatricians are ready to discuss the vaccine with families, review benefits and potential side effects, and collaborate with parents to make informed decisions about their child’s health.

“The American Academy of Pediatrics will continue to provide clear, evidence-backed guidance on routine childhood immunizations. I encourage parents, expecting parents and caregivers to talk with their pediatricians and doctors if they have questions about the hepatitis B vaccine,” said Dr. Kressly.

Click here to read the full statement: https://bit.ly/3Y9ZQJT

12/05/2025

A statement from American Academy of Pediatrics President, Dr. Susan J. Kressly:

The decision by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to downgrade its recommendations to protect infants from hepatitis B is a dangerous move that will harm children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics continues to recommend routine hepatitis B vaccination for all newborns: All babies should receive a first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth, a second dose at one to two months, and a third dose at six months. The pacing of these doses has been rigorously tested and proven to be safe and effective over several decades.

Vaccinating all newborns against hepatitis B effectively prevents transmission of the virus to newborns during childbirth, supports them to build immunity against potential childhood infections, and ensures long-term protection into adulthood from a virus that can cause serious liver disease and liver cancer. Infants and children can be exposed to this virus by close caregivers who may not know they are infected. Delaying the birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine has no clear benefits and leaves children vulnerable to infection.

Click here to read the full statement: https://bit.ly/3Y9ZQJT

12/04/2025

Anti-vax talking points go in cycles. Thoroughly refuted talking points get pulled out of the anti-vax vault over and over again. Recently we've been seeing a lot of comments about formaldehyde in vaccines, so we've pulled out our own ancient meme from our own vaults to refute it once again. It's so old we didn't have a logo, and the link in the meme is dead. It's still true.

ALT TEXT: a meme featuring a picture of two pears. The headline reads:

Concerned about formaldehyde in vaccines? Consider the pear...

The left pear, which has been mainly coloured blue [to represent formaldehyde level], has text on it that reads:

A 200 g pear contains up to 12,000 µg of formaldehyde, naturally

The right pear, which has a tiny section coloured blue [again, to represent formaldehyde level], has text on it that reads:

Vaccines contain up to 100 µg, or 0.83% of the formaldehyde in a pear

Beneath the pears, the text reads:

The amount of formaldehyde in a vaccine is so tiny that it doesn't even affect the naturally occurring levels of formaldehyde in a child's blood.

12/04/2025

Scientists studied thousands of children born March 2020-May 2021. Out of 800+ mothers diagnosed with COVID-19, 16.3% of their babies received a neurodevelopmental diagnosis by 3 years old, compared with 9.7% who weren’t exposed to COVID-19 in utero.

Read the full story: https://propub.li/4pKnCI6

12/01/2025

Parents, caregivers, and older siblings - “cocoon” and protect the infants in your life by getting your and vaccinations and making sure you’re up to date on your vaccination!

The holiday season is quickly approaching, bringing loved ones together to celebrate. And as families gather, it’s easier for contagious viruses to spread, putting vulnerable groups at risk. Thankfully, widespread vaccination prevents these diseases from spreading and keeps everyone healthy.

Learn more about the importance of staying up to date on immunizations and community immunity this holiday season by visiting our website.
https://bit.ly/3XcrS7d

12/01/2025

Did you know? During 2000-2024, vaccination saved an estimated 59 million lives -- more than any other childhood vaccination: bit.ly/48jIPSe

11/28/2025

11/26/2025

Polio once killed or crippled tens of thousands of people—mostly children—each year.

Thanks to decades of vaccination campaigns and international cooperation, the global case count has now fallen to just a few hundred per year.

Explore the data: https://humanprogress.org/dataset/polio?countries=REG_517&primary-data=23527&compare=null&chart-type=Line+Chart&view=selected&value-type=score&calc-table-country-a=null&calc-table-country-b=null&x-axis-start=0&x-axis-end=10&y-axis-start=42&y-axis-end=65739&y-axis-log=false&x-axis-log=false&auto-scale=true&map-color=Monochromatic+Sky®ion-calculation=Sum&start-date=1980&end-date=2024&the-year=2024&sort-bar-chart-ascending=true