Good afternoon, Chicago.
The Chicago-based American Medical Association is blasting a federal vaccine advisory committee’s decision today to no longer recommend that all babies get the hepatitis B vaccine when they’re born.
The committee’s decision “is reckless and undermines decades of public confidence in a proven, lifesaving vaccine,” said Dr. Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, an American Medical Association trustee, in a statement Friday morning. “Today’s action is not based on scientific evidence, disregards data supporting the effectiveness of the Hepatitis B vaccine, and creates confusion for parents about how best to protect their newborns.”
Here’s what else is happening today. And remember, for the latest breaking news in Chicago, visit chicagotribune.com/latest-headlines and sign up to get our alerts on all your devices.
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Residents pick up their belongings following an overnight fire in the 1500 block of North Karlov Avenue in Chicago’s West Humboldt Park on Dec. 5, 2025 which sent at least 10 people to the hospital. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
10 people reported injured in overnight fire at Humboldt Park apartment building
At least 10 people were taken to five area hospitals after a fire broke out Friday at an apartment building in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, officials reported. Read more here.
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Composer Matthew Aucoin and soprano Julia Bullock embrace following the world premier of Aucoin’s “Song of the Reappeared” at Symphony Center in Chicago on Dec. 4, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
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The CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meets in Atlanta on Dec. 5, 2025, to consider changes in hepatitis B vaccine recommendations for infants. (Ben Gray/AP)
US vaccine advisers say not all babies need a hepatitis B shot at birth
A loud chorus of medical and public health leaders decried the actions of the panel, whose current members were all appointed by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a leading anti-vaccine activist before this year becoming the nation’s top health official. Read more here.
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