Atlanta, Georgia - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently got rid of a decades-old recommendation that all newborns in the US receive a hepatitis B vaccine shot.

In a press release shared on Tuesday, the agency announced that it is adopting "individual-based decision-making" for infants born to mothers who test negative for the virus.

The change "means that parents and health care providers should consider vaccine benefits, vaccine risks, and infection risks, and that parents consult with their health care provider and decide when or if their child will begin the hepatitis B vaccine series," the statement said.

Jim O'Neill, acting director of the CDC and deputy health secretary, claimed the move would restore "the balance of informed consent to parents whose newborns face little risk of contracting hepatitis B."

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For newborns who do not receive the birth dose of the shot, the CDC recommends parents wait at least two months before having their baby vaccinated.

The new recommendations – which put an end to guidance originally implemented in 1991 – came from a CDC panel of vaccine advisers who were handpicked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is a well-known anti-vaccine advocate.

Medical experts have sounded the alarm that the panel is ignoring an abundance of evidence showing the hepatitis B vaccine is safe and effective, emphasizing the new recommendation may lead to an increase in preventable infections.