Summer 1997 Volume 2, Number 2		ACIP expands hepatitis B recommendation and VFC coverage to all children ages 0-18 At its last meeting, on October 23rd, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to expand its hepatitis B recommendation to include all children ages 0 through 18. ACIP's earlier policy was to vaccinate only those children who fell into certain age cohorts or high-risk groups. At the same meeting, ACIP voted to extend the federal vaccine entitlement, Vaccines for Children (VFC), to include all eligible children ages 0 through 18. The policy change was recommended by staff at the CDC Hepatitis Branch and long had been advocated by some ACIP members. "These two votes are great news for health care professionals who have struggled to remember whom they should vaccinate and who is eligible for free vaccine under the VFC program," said Dr. Deborah Wexler, Executive Director of the Immunization Action Coalition, based in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Publisher of Needle Tips, the immunization newsletter. The Coalition actively supported adoption of the new policy. ACIP's previous recommendations for hepatitis B vaccination of infants and adolescents remain unchanged. "Children who were not vaccinated in infancy, however, may now be vaccinated at any time before the 11-12 year old visit, or if they are older than 11-12 years of age, at any time thereafter. Efforts should be made to vaccinate adolescents at any opportunity before they reach the age of 19," said Dr. Wexler.