Vitamin K shot refusals for newborns rise 57% in first half of 2026

The rate of newborns in the United States leaving hospitals without a documented vitamin K shot rose by more than 57 percent between January and June 2026, according to an analysis by health data company Truveta. The non-administration rate climbed from 5.2 percent in January to 8.1 percent in June, meaning approximately one in twelve newborns did not receive the injection.

Vitamin K is essential for blood clotting. Infants born without sufficient levels remain vulnerable to life-threatening bleeding disorders for roughly six months. Truveta’s analysis, which reviewed records for over 1 million births, found that the non-receipt rate in the first half of 2026 was 2.5 times higher than the average recorded between 2019 and 2024.

Medical specialists have expressed concern that rising refusals reflect a growing mistrust of routine newborn interventions and vaccines. The data follows recent shifts in health policy recommendations, including decisions by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to drop recommendations for several routine childhood vaccines. While the Truveta findings are a preliminary industry analysis, they align with long-term trends showing an increase in non-receipt rates over recent years.