Business
RFK Jr.’s vaccine panel to vote on changing hepatitis B shot recommendation for babies
U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. looks on as he attends a press conference to discuss health insurance reform, at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 23, 2025.
Kevin Mohatt | Reuters
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hand-picked vaccine committee is scheduled to vote Thursday on whether to change a longstanding recommendation that every baby get vaccinated against hepatitis B within 24 hours of birth.
It’s unclear if the panel, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, will significantly delay or eliminate that so-called birth dose of the shot entirely. The group tabled a vote on the vaccine in September because some members called for a more robust discussion first.
But either change could have wide-ranging consequences: Some public health experts say that having fewer newborns vaccinated against the virus could risk an increase in chronic infections among children.
Hepatitis B, which can be passed from mother to baby during childbirth, can lead to liver disease and early death. There is no cure.
“We have a vaccine that is highly effective at preventing an incurable disease. We should take full advantage of that,” Neil Maniar, a public health professor at Northeastern University, told CNBC.
The birth dose recommendation was introduced in 1991 and is credited with driving down infections in kids by 99% since then. Maniar called that a “remarkable success story that we run the risk of reversing” if the committee changes the recommendation.
Decisions by the panel are not legally binding, as it is up to states to mandate immunizations. But ACIP’s recommendations have significant implications for whether private insurance plans and government assistance programs cover the vaccines at no cost for eligible children.
The panel’s upcoming two-day meeting in Atlanta comes after Kennedy earlier this year gutted the committee and appointed 12 new members, including some well-known vaccine critics. During the meeting in September, some advisors raised questions about whether the benefits of the shot outweigh potential safety risks.
But the jab is “an incredibly safe vaccine with minimal risks,” Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Infectious Diseases, said during a media briefing Tuesday.
“I never once saw a fever actually associated with hepatitis B vaccine,” said O’Leary, who practiced for eight years as a general pediatrician and worked in a newborn nursery.
The AAP, which publishes its own vaccine schedule, still recommends the universal birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine because “it saves lives,” he added.
A new review, published Tuesday, of more than 400 studies spanning four decades also found no evidence that delaying the universal hepatitis B vaccine birth dose improves safety or effectiveness. The review also found that the birth dose does not cause any short- or long-term serious adverse events or deaths.
A 2024 CDC study showed that the current vaccination schedule has helped prevent more than 6 million hepatitis B infections and nearly 1 million hepatitis B-related hospitalizations.
Merck and GSK manufacture the hepatitis B vaccines used starting at birth. Neither of the shots are significant revenue drivers for the companies.
Still, Merck during the panel’s September meeting pushed back on changing the recommendation.
“The reconsideration of the newborn Hepatitis B vaccination on the established schedule poses a grave risk to the health of children and to the public, which could lead to a resurgence of preventable infectious diseases,” Dr. Richard Haupt, Merck’s head of global medical and scientific affairs for vaccines and infectious diseases, said at the time.
Last Updated:
IT stocks extended their rally for a second consecutive session on Thursday, clearly outperforming a highly volatile broader market
IT Shares
IT Share Price: IT stocks extended their rally for a second consecutive session on Thursday, clearly outperforming a highly volatile broader market. While the benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, swung sharply in both directions through the day, the IT pack remained resilient.
The Nifty IT index was up about 1.5 percent in afternoon trade, building on its over 1 percent rise in the previous session. With gains spread over two days, the index has now climbed more than 2 percent.
All 10 constituents of the IT index were trading in the green. Coforge led the rally with a gain of 3.19 percent around 1:30 pm, while Persistent Systems followed with a rise of 1.96 percent.
Shares of Tata Consultancy Services were trading at ₹3,230.40 on the NSE, up 1.58 percent and at their highest level in nearly three months. The sharp move came after a report said OpenAI is in advanced talks with the company to set up a large-scale AI compute presence in India and jointly develop agentic AI products for enterprises.
Other IT heavyweights such as Mphasis, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Wipro and Infosys also advanced, rising as much as 2 percent.
3 key factors behind the rise in IT stocks
1) Weakening rupee: The rupee slipped 28 paise to a fresh record low of 90.43 against the US dollar in early trade. It opened at 90.36 and weakened further amid sustained foreign fund outflows. A softer rupee typically supports IT exporters, which earn a large part of their revenue in dollars, by boosting rupee-denominated earnings and margins.
2) Hopes of a US rate cut: Recent US macroeconomic data have kept expectations alive for a potential rate cut by the Federal Reserve next week. Lower interest rates usually support economic activity and corporate spending, including technology budgets. Stronger IT spending in the US, India’s largest export market for software services, directly benefits domestic IT firms.
3) Positive brokerage commentary: Motilal Oswal said the IT services sector may be nearing an inflection point, with stronger growth likely over the next 6–9 months. The brokerage expects a pickup in the second half of FY27 and broader adoption through FY28 as companies move from pilot projects to full-scale deployment. It also noted that sector valuations are at decade lows despite stable profitability.
Last week, the brokerage upgraded Infosys to “buy” from “neutral”, citing its ability to benefit from rising enterprise AI spending. Mphasis and Zensar were also upgraded to “buy”, while Wipro was revised to “neutral” from “sell”.
Motilal Oswal expects IT services growth to stabilise and strengthen by FY28 as cloud spending normalises. Despite the ongoing rebound, the IT sub-index is still down 12.7 percent on a year-to-date basis, underperforming the broader Nifty 50.
Click here to add News18 as your preferred news source on Google. December 04, 2025, 15:07 IST
Read More
Business
Good News For OCI Cardholders! Now You Can Complete NPS KYC Digitally From Abroad; Documents Required Are…
New Delhi: Good news for Overseas Citizens of India (OCI)! The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has updated its KYC rules. This makes the process much simpler for OCIs living abroad. They can now complete their National Pension System (NPS) KYC digitally from anywhere in the world without needing to travel to India. This move removes the earlier requirement of being physically present in the country.
Required Documents for KYC Verification
For OCI cardholders completing NPS KYC, the accepted Proof of Identity (PoI) includes the OCI card along with their foreign passport. For Proof of Address (PoA), the document must clearly show the current overseas address. It can be provided either through the foreign passport or a government-issued driving licence from the country of residence.
Important Guidelines for Document Submission
– All submitted documents such as passport, visa, and OCI card must be valid on the date of onboarding.
– Documents in any foreign language must include a certified English translation.
– Expired documents will not be accepted, unless allowed under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PML) rules.
– Subscribers must ensure that all documents are genuine and accurate.
KYC Update Process for Existing OCI Subscribers
– Existing OCI NPS subscribers can update their KYC records through the overseas branches of their respective banks.
– If there are no changes in the KYC details, a simple self-declaration via email, registered mobile number, or other approved methods is enough.
– Updates can be submitted digitally or through attested documents, making the process easier and more convenient from abroad.
OCI subscribers need to make their NPS contributions through inward remittances using regular banking channels. When it comes to withdrawals, the proceeds are credited to NRO or NRE accounts and can be repatriated in line with FEMA rules. If a subscriber’s status changes from NRI/OCI to resident, they must inform the authorities within three months so their records can be updated accordingly.
Business
Fallout of rupee breaching 90 mark: Get ready to pay higher for consumer goods; here’s what may become costlier – The Times of India
Consumers may soon have to brace for higher prices! The depreciation of the rupee beyond Rs 90 against the US dollar could force various sectors including consumer electronics, beauty products, and automobile manufacturers to increase their prices. This increase may end up eating into the benefits after the recent GST rate cuts. This potential price rise might neutralise the positive sales momentum these sectors saw after recent tax reductions.Companies dependent on imported components or complete imported products are seeing concerns. Several companies had postponed their price increase plans, despite escalating raw material costs, due to potential government oversight following the GST reductions effective September 22.
Rupee hits new low: Will prices rise?
Manufacturers of smartphones, laptops, televisions and major appliances have indicated plans to hike prices by around 3-7% starting December-January, according to an ET report.The price hikes aim to compensate for increased costs of memory chips, copper and additional components resulting from rupee depreciation. The imported materials constitute between 30-70% of manufacturing expenses across these product categories.“The advantages of reduced GST rates will be nullified by currency devaluation and increasing component costs,” said Avneet Singh Marwah, chief executive at Super Plastronics, which manufactures Kodak, Thomson and Blaupunkt TVs.
Currency push
“Memory chip prices have increased more than six times in the past four months. We anticipate demand might decline again after the brief recovery from the GST reduction,” said Marwah according to the ET report.Also Read | Rs 90 to a dollar: What’s driving the fall and why it matters to you – explainedIndustry leaders noted they had calculated costs expecting the rupee to remain at 85-86 against the dollar, but its sharp fall to Rs 90 necessitates new calculations. Several firms had postponed regular price adjustments since October despite rising material costs, wary of being accused of profiteering after GST implementation.Presently, firms have begun notifying retailers about forthcoming price increases. Havells has indicated a 3% increase in LED TV prices, whilst Super Plastronics plans 7-10% higher prices, and Godrej Appliances will raise prices by 5-7% for air-conditioners and refrigerators from January.They indicated that a single-level change in energy efficiency ratings from January will create additional challenges. “The stricter energy rating requirements and weakening rupee necessitate price adjustments from January. Should the rupee weaken further, additional increases may be needed in the March quarter,” said Kamal Nandi, business head at Godrej Appliances. “The GST reduction benefits will be completely negated, but we have no alternative.“Consumer goods manufacturers have privately informed government officials that they cannot continue to absorb rising costs.The rapidly expanding beauty market in India, with international brands like Shiseido, MAC, Bobbi Brown, Clinique and The Body Shop, faces potential challenges due to rising import costs. Furthermore, the GST on cosmetics remains at 18%, with no provisions to offset currency-related cost increases.Also Read | ‘Not losing sleep’: CEA Nageswaran on rupee touching 90 mark versus US dollar; ‘falling rupee is not affecting…’“A weaker rupee does increase our landed cost since a significant share of beauty products across fragrances, cosmetics and skincare are imported and dollar-denominated,” said Biju Kassim, chief executive at Shoppers Stop Beauty. “For distributors like Global SS Beauty, this creates margin pressure that becomes hard to sustain long-term unless partially offset. We work closely with our global brand partners to optimise costs and hedge currency exposure, but some price correction on high-end imported portfolios may eventually be unavoidable.“The declining value of the rupee poses risks to the recent positive trend in vehicle sales, following price reductions implemented by companies on two-wheelers and cars after GST reduction benefits.Mercedes-Benz India’s managing director Santosh Iyer stated, “We estimate the positive effect of the price drop on demand for luxury vehicles to gradually wean away in the mid- to long-term, as prices of luxury cars will rise from current levels owing to deteriorating forex movement. We are mulling a price correction from January 26.”The competitor Audi India is currently evaluating its position in the market.Audi India’s head Balbir Singh Dhillon commented, “The rupee depreciation impacts the company directly and fully, but as of now, the company has not decided on the price increase or its quantum.”The government’s decision to reduce GST on compact automobiles and two-wheelers from 28-31% to 18% resulted in actual price reductions of 8.5-9.9%. This led to increased sales of 17% and 19% in October and November respectively, following a sluggish first half of the financial year. However, the current currency fluctuations might neutralise this surge in demand.
College football star calls on Trump take charge of College Football Playoff decisions
Bangladesh’s economic outlook cautiously optimistic: Govt
Tara Reid case: Major update revealed
-
Tech4 days agoGet Your Steps In From Your Home Office With This Walking Pad—On Sale This Week
-
Entertainment3 days agoSadie Sink talks about the future of Max in ‘Stranger Things’
-
Sports3 days agoIndia Triumphs Over South Africa in First ODI Thanks to Kohli’s Heroics – SUCH TV
-
Fashion3 days agoResults are in: US Black Friday store visits down, e-visits up, apparel shines
-
Politics3 days agoElon Musk reveals partner’s half-Indian roots, son’s middle name ‘Sekhar’
-
Tech3 days agoPrague’s City Center Sparkles, Buzzes, and Burns at the Signal Festival
-
Uncategorized1 week ago
[CinePlex360] Please moderate: “Americans would
-
Tech1 week agoWake Up—the Best Black Friday Mattress Sales Are Here