Joseph Mercola Now Supports Vitamin K Shots for All Newborns

Joseph Mercola published an article on his website in April 2026 stating he had changed his views on vitamin K shots for newborns. Mercola wrote that the data is clear that vitamin K saves lives and that based on the totality of the published evidence he supports vitamin K prophylaxis for all newborns.

He added that vitamin K deficiency bleeding is rare but when it occurs the consequences can be devastating and irreversible, and that a single injection at birth can prevent it.

Mercola directed parents to talk to their doctor. He addressed past misinformation about the shot and wrote that some of it may reference his own 2010 article, which reflected the state of a scientific debate that has since been resolved. 7 million followers.

He reiterated his opposition to the shot in 2014 after four babies in Nashville, Tennessee suffered vitamin K deficiency bleeding. He did so again in 2019 after hospital staff in Illinois contacted child protective services regarding a newborn whose parents refused the shot. The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended the vitamin K shot since 1961.

Babies who do not receive the shot are 81 times more at risk for late vitamin K deficiency bleeding. Oral vitamin K drops are not approved by the FDA. The discovery of vitamin K and its role in clotting blood won the Nobel Prize in 1943.

Mercola stated his 2010 article was based on an interview with a Dutch researcher who studied vitamin K. Mercola declined to be interviewed for the ProPublica story but stated his current stance is accurately reflected in the April 2026 article. Mercola and his companies paid millions of dollars to settle allegations of false claims about product safety.

The FDA sent Mercola a warning letter during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding unapproved products including vitamin C offered to prevent or treat COVID-19. 59 million to people who bought Mercola indoor tanning systems. The FTC charged that Mercola claimed indoor tanning systems were safe and that research showed indoor tanning does not raise melanoma risk.