WASHINGTON — Rep. Kim Schrier and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks sent a letter to Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), urging the agency to track vitamin K shot refusals, vitamin K deficiency bleeding, and associated infant deaths.

"We write to urge the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to take immediate action," Schrier and Alsobrooks wrote in the letter. "Recent reporting from ProPublica has highlighted a major problem: the federal government does not currently track vitamin K shot refusal, vitamin K deficiency bleeding, or the preventable deaths related to vitamin K deficiency."

Alsobrooks said the reporting provided information that prompted the letter. "It was ProPublica's reporting that gave us this additional information and led to us writing this important letter, and asking, of course, that CDC take action," she said. No federal or state agencies currently track refusal rates for the vitamin K shot or subsequent bleeding incidents. A national study of more than 5 million births found the rate of babies not receiving the shot at birth topped 5% in 2024.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended the vitamin K shot for all newborns since 1961. The shot is an injection administered at birth to aid in blood clotting and is not a vaccine. Research indicates that babies who do not receive the shot are 81 times more likely to develop late vitamin K deficiency bleeding than those who do. This condition can lead to bleeding in the brain. The CDC reports that one in every five babies exhibiting vitamin K deficiency bleeding will die.

An HHS spokesperson said the CDC recommends parents allow newborns to receive the vitamin K shot within six hours of birth to prevent vitamin K deficiency bleeding. The spokesperson also noted that uptake of the shot has decreased in recent years. "Once you stop doing these things that are preventative, cases rise," Schrier said. "I believe that the best way to set the record straight for parents is to be able to provide modern-day, accurate information."

The American Academy of Pediatrics commended the lawmakers and ProPublica for drawing attention to the issue. Dr. Andrew Racine, president of the academy, emphasized the CDC's role. "We depend upon the CDC to let us know about that," Racine said. He added, "It's not simply to track it, it's to message it."