Illinois health officials asserted the state's hepatitis B vaccination guidance remains unchanged after a federal vaccine advisory committee voted to end the longstanding recommendation that all U.S. babies get the vaccine on the day they're born.

Dr. Sameer Vohra, the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, said he's "deeply concerned" by the shift away from universal newborn vaccination, and there hasn't been any new evidence to support the change.

"For decades, the best available science has shown that administering the hepatitis B vaccine at birth is safe, effective, and critical in preventing chronic liver disease and liver cancer later in life..." he shared in a statement, in part.

While the shots are widely considered to be a public health success for preventing thousands of illnesses, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices decided to recommend the birth dose only for babies whose mothers test positive, and in cases where the mom wasn't tested. The panel's current members were all appointed by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. -- a leading anti-vaccine activist before this year becoming the nation's top health official.

A loud chorus of medical and public health leaders decried the actions of the panel, and other states, including Connecticut and New York, joined Illinois in continuing to recommend the shots.

IDPH, affirming its position, cited a University of Minnesota study that showed hepatitis B infection among U.S. children has dropped by 99% since universal newborn vaccination began in 1991.

For babies whose mothers don't test positive, will be up to the parents and their doctors to decide if a birth dose is appropriate. The committee voted 8-3 to suggest that when a family elects to wait, then the vaccination series should begin when the child is 2 months old.

The acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jim O'Neill, is expected to decide later whether to accept the committee's recommendation.