Dr. Paul Offit — one of the most respected pediatricians and vaccine experts in the country — unloaded on the CDC Friday, calling its latest vote on newborn vaccines “a clown show” and warning parents that the agency’s new stance could put babies and toddlers at serious risk.

Appearing on “TMZ Live,” Offit blasted the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee for recommending the removal of universal hepatitis B shots for newborns, a policy that has been in place for more than 30 years.

The outrage from Offit was immediate:

“This clown show, this parody of a public health agency… we’re standing back horrified.”

Offit: The CDC Got the Science Completely Wrong

According to Offit, the advisory committee is making a dangerous assumption — that the only meaningful way infants contract hepatitis B is through infected mothers during pregnancy.

“That’s simply false,” Offit says.

He explained that hepatitis B can spread from other family members, caregivers, or household contacts, even without symptoms. And when very young children get infected, the consequences are catastrophic:

Newborns infected → 90% chance of developing chronic liver disease

Ages 1–5 → 25% chance of cirrhosis or liver cancer later in life

That’s why the universal-at-birth vaccine recommendation has existed for decades.

Offit warned that rolling it back will inevitably lead to more infected infants — and preventable deaths.

“People Will Trust Their Doctors — Not RFK Jr.”

Offit said he hopes parents don’t blindly follow the CDC’s new stance and instead listen to their own pediatricians, who overwhelmingly support keeping the shot.

“People trust their local doctors — they don’t trust Robert F. Kennedy Jr., or bureaucrats they’ve never met.”

RFK Jr., now head of HHS, has vocally questioned childhood vaccine schedules for years.

Backlash Builds — Including From a Republican Senator Who’s a Liver Specialist

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) — a physician specializing in liver disease — blasted the CDC advisory vote and urged acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill not to finalize it.

Cassidy said the move “defies basic medical reality” and called it a threat to children’s health nationwide.

What Happens Next?

The advisory committee’s vote isn’t binding until the CDC director signs off — which has not happened yet.

If finalized:

Newborn hepatitis B shots would no longer be universally recommended

Only infants born to known infected mothers would automatically receive the vaccine

Pediatricians, hospitals, and states could still choose to administer it anyway

Offit is urging doctors and parents to ignore the change.

Bottom Line from Offit

“This is a dangerous mistake. I hope people think twice before following this recommendation.”

The controversy is already shaping up to be one of the biggest public-health fights of the year — and it’s only getting louder.