Manufacturing a Hepatitis B Scare

Harvard researchers predict an 83% surge in childhood hepatitis B infections. But their alarming forecast rests on unverified assumptions that the New York Times failed to scrutinise.

A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine has generated alarming headlines about the possible consequences of proposed changes to America's longstanding recommendation to vaccinate every baby against hepatitis B at birth.

Researchers from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital predict that allowing parents and doctors greater discretion over vaccination could increase chronic childhood hepatitis B infections by a staggering 83%.

The New York Times wasted little time amplifying the findings under the headline, “Kennedy’s Vaccine Plan Could Cause Surge in Hepatitis B, Study Finds.”

It’s a frightening statistic, but where did it come from?