Trump urges delay of Hepatitis B vaccine as infant cases rise, cites Tylenol link to autism

President Donald Trump on Monday urged parents to delay giving newborns the Hepatitis B vaccine, telling reporters that Hepatitis B is sexually transmitted and that babies should wait until they are 12 years old to be vaccinated. The remarks came during a Roosevelt Room briefing with Trump’s senior medical advisers.

'There's no reason to give a baby that's almost just born Hepatitis B, so I would say wait 'til the baby is 12-years-old and formed and take Hepatitis B,' Trump said in the Roosevelt Room. 'And I think if you do those things it's going to be whole different - it's going to be a revolution in a positive sense in the country,' the president added. Trump later brushed aside a reporter's note that Hepatitis B can be contracted in ways other than sexual transmission, saying, 'I think it's absolutely appropriate. I think they should wait until they're 12 years old.'

Trump also held a press conference urging pregnant women against taking acetaminophen while pregnant, claiming the analgesic could lead to autism and ADHD. The president said that the vaccine schedule should be spaced out for babies rather than having multiple vaccines administered at the same time or combined into a single shot. He told attendees that he hoped his position would prompt a broader shift in public health policy.

'Don't take Tylenol!' Trump exclaimed while discussing acetaminophen, a line that drew immediate questions about medical consensus on the drug's safety during pregnancy. The remarks about Tylenol were paired with a claim that there is a link between a surge in childhood autism rates and maternal use of acetaminophen, a claim the notes describe as a focal point of the briefing rather than established scientific consensus.

The latest remarks come as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. continues to overhaul the U.S. medical system in the name of his Make America Healthy Again movement. Kennedy Jr. has signaled forthcoming disclosures about the agency's findings, set to be announced in September, according to the notes.

Trump was joined at the event by officials including Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Dr. Mehmet Oz, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Martin Makary, and other members of the administration, along with figures tied to the Make America Healthy Again initiative. The gathering in the Roosevelt Room was described as aiming to outline a broader reorientation of how vaccines and common medications are recommended and scheduled for U.S. families.

RFK Jr. has framed the briefing as part of a larger effort to reassess longstanding medical guidance and the regulatory framework surrounding drugs and vaccines. He and Trump have positioned the movement as a reform drive intended to increase transparency and realign public health policy with what they describe as patient-centered principles. The notes indicate Kennedy Jr. anticipated presenting major revelations about the agency’s findings in September, a development that would become a focal point for critics and supporters alike.

Observers note that the claims about delaying vaccines and linking acetaminophen to neurodevelopmental outcomes remain highly controversial and are not supported by the broad consensus of medical authorities. Still, the event underscores a broader political strategy in which vaccine policy and prenatal exposure to common medicines are being framed as avenues for redefining public health norms in the United States.