Shafaqna English– A Reuters analysis of US health data has revealed a sharp acceleration in the refusal of the standard vitamin K shot for newborns, with rates jumping more than 57% in the first half of 2026 compared to prior periods, putting more infants at risk of life-threatening bleeding.
The trend, which has been rising for years, reached 2.5 times the average rate from 2019–2024 and 1.4 times higher than in 2025, according to Truveta’s review of over 1 million births.
Pediatricians and neonatologists have identified this as a growing concern, driven by escalating mistrust of vaccines and newborn medical interventions—fueled in part by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s longstanding skepticism of established medicines and his January announcement dropping recommendations for routine hepatitis B and other childhood vaccines.
The CDC warns that without the shot, newborns are 81 times more likely to suffer brain or intestinal bleeding in their first six months, with one in five such cases proving fatal, and serious bleeding occurring in one out of 59 births without the injection.
Physicians report that parents are increasingly rejecting evidence-based advice based on misinformation, with experts describing the trend as “terrifying” and a step backward in child healthcare.
Source: Reuters