US Newborn Vitamin K Refusals Jump 57% to 8.1% as RFK Jr. Policy Shift Fuels Doubt
Updated
Updated · The Independent · Sep 1
US Newborn Vitamin K Refusals Jump 57% to 8.1% as RFK Jr. Policy Shift Fuels Doubt
3 articles · Updated · The Independent · Sep 1
Summary
Truveta’s review of 1,026,375 U.S. births found newborns missing the vitamin K shot rose more than 57% from January to June, with the non-administration rate reaching 8.1%.
That surge followed Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s January move to drop recommendations for six childhood vaccines; doctors said his messaging and Trump’s renewed backing deepened mistrust of routine newborn care.
Without the shot, infants are 81 times more likely to suffer life-threatening bleeding in the brain or gut during the first six months, and one in five severe cases is fatal, according to the CDC.
Hospitals and pediatric practices are adapting: some outpatient clinics now stock the injection, and many hospitals bar circumcision without it, a dynamic doctors say helps explain why girls faced higher refusal rates than boys in June.