Two lawmakers called on federal officials to address the “growing and preventable public health crisis” of families refusing long-term standard vitamin K vaccinations for newborns. As a result, some infants suffered uncontrolled bleeding and even died.
“We urge the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to take immediate action,” two Democratic congressmen, Rep. Kim Schrier of Washington and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, wrote in a letter to acting CDC Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharyya last week.
The letter comes on the heels of a ProPublica investigation that found infants were dying because their families refused vitamin K injections, an important and inexpensive shot given at birth to help blood clot, and that federal and state officials were failing to track critical data.
“ProPublica’s recent reporting highlights a serious problem: The federal government currently does not track vitamin K injection refusals, vitamin K deficiency bleeding, or preventable deaths related to vitamin K deficiency,” Schrier and Alsobrooks wrote in the letter.
Vitamin K vaccination has been routinely administered in the United States since the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended it for all newborns in 1961, but in recent years some families have refused non-vaccine vaccinations due to growing distrust of medical institutions and misinformation online.
No federal or state agency tracks refusal rates or subsequent bleeding.
“It was the ProPublica reporting that gave us this additional information and what led us to write this important letter and, of course, call on the CDC to take action,” Allsbrooks said in an interview.
She called on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to publicly express support for the shooting. He has so far refused to do so, saying he has not said anything about the injection.
“So many people rely on the words and advice of people in their position,” said Alsobrooks, who is calling for Kennedy’s resignation. “I think he has a moral obligation to say in clear and unambiguous terms that this is safe and effective and that families should give this vaccine to their babies.”
An HHS spokesperson reiterated previous comments and said that the CDC recommends that parents give newborns a vitamin K injection within six hours of birth to prevent bleeding due to vitamin K deficiency. He also said access to the shot has declined in recent years “as public trust in health care institutions has declined amid heavy-handed orders and inconsistent messaging under the Biden administration, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics praised lawmakers and ProPublica for drawing attention to the issue, but AAP President Dr. Andrew Racine said the association has been concerned about the issue for some time.
He said one of the government’s roles is to provide clinicians and the public with data that enables them to make informed decisions. When a sick baby comes to the hospital, doctors need to know if they are in an area with high vitamin K rejection rates so they can diagnose and treat quickly. He likened it to tracking measles cases.
“We’re counting on the CDC to let us know about it,” Racine said. “And this is essentially a medical condition that affects newborns, so pediatricians and those who care for children need to be careful.”
He also said HHS leaders should be vocal about their support for vaccination and communicate what happens if an unvaccinated baby bleeds.
“It’s not just about tracking,” Racine said. “It’s about getting the message across.”
Studies have shown that babies who do not receive vitamin K injections are 81 times more likely to develop delayed vitamin K deficiency bleeding than those who do, which can lead to bleeding in the brain. According to the CDC, one in five infants will die from vitamin K deficiency bleeding.
A national survey of more than 5 million births found that the proportion of infants not receiving vitamin K at birth is rising and will exceed 5% by 2024. Some hospitals told ProPublica that their refusal rates have more than doubled in recent years.
Historically, there has not been a need for a robust surveillance system to track cases of bleeding due to vitamin K deficiency, Schrier and Alsobrooks wrote in their letter. But right now, experts cannot determine the extent of the problem or mount public health campaigns without a solid understanding of its scope. The CDC has the tools necessary to understand and respond to the crisis and should use them, they wrote.
“I believe the best way to correct the situation for parents is to provide them with modern, accurate information,” Schrier said. “If we stop doing these preventive things, we’re going to see an increase in cases.”
