About PhRMA
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country’s leading innovative biopharmaceutical research companies, which are laser focused on developing innovative medicines that transform lives and create a healthier world. Together, we are fighting for solutions to ensure patients can access and afford medicines that prevent, treat and cure disease. Over the last decade, PhRMA member companies have invested more than $850 billion in the search for new treatments and cures, and they support nearly five million jobs in the United States.
Connect with PhRMA
For information on how innovative medicines save lives, please visit:
www.PhRMA.org
www.VotersforCures.org
www.AmericasMedicines.com
www.Facebook.com/PhRMA
www.X.com/PhRMA
WASHINGTON, D.C. (December 5, 2025) – Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Chief Medical Officer Dr. Michael Ybarra issued the following statement on this week’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting:
“Ensuring Americans have access to safe and effective FDA-approved vaccines is vital. The ACIP meeting this week introduced new confusion for health care professionals and the public – especially American parents.
“The United States childhood immunization schedule has been developed over decades, grounded in evidence-based research to inform the appropriate dosing and timing of vaccination. Changes, such as those discussed this week, without a transparent, science-driven process will have significant negative impacts on the prevention of dangerous diseases in children.
“ACIP’s decision to stop recommending the universal birth dose for the hepatitis B vaccine was based on theory rather than sound evidence and puts the health of all Americans at risk. Hepatitis B is a serious liver infection, and infants infected at birth have a 90% chance of developing chronic infection, which can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer, liver failure and death. Hepatitis B is up to 100 times more infectious than HIV and can be passed to infants by an infected mother, family member or caregiver during pregnancy or birth, through cuts or bites or even by sharing personal items with someone who is infected.
“This is why the vaccine at birth is so important – it protects newborns immediately, when they need it most and before they can be exposed.
“Vaccines matter for every American and they are one of the best ways to prevent disease before it starts. We urge the administration to support continued access to vaccines so every American can protect themselves and their families.”
###
Read more from PhRMA:
- Read more about decades of research finding no link between vaccines or vaccine ingredients and autism.
- Learn more here here about why vaccination at birth against hepatitis B matters.
- Read about vaccine ingredients Aluminum and thimerosal.
- What you need to know about Measles and the MMR vaccine.
- Check out PhRMA’s statement from the last ACIP meeting.