In brief
As COVID-19 infections rise in the U.S., the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., faces critical decisions about vaccine accessibility. After delaying key decisions related to newborn vaccinations, the panel must clarify who qualifies for updated COVID-19 shots. Current FDA restrictions limit vaccines to seniors and high-risk individuals under 65, complicating public access and coverage. Medical groups advocate for wider availability as confusion grows among families regarding their eligibility.
ATLANTA (AP) — Access to COVID-19 shots is the big question as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new vaccine advisers meet again Friday, after putting off a controversial vote on a different vaccine for newborns.People in many states already are reporting frustration as they try to determine, or prove, if they qualify for updated COVID-19 vaccines — even as infections have climbed over the past month.The Food and Drug Administration recently put new restrictions on this year’s shots from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax, reserving them for people over 65 or younger ones who are deemed at higher risk from the virus. Now advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have to take the next step, recommending who should seek them, a move that influences insurance coverage and how pharmacists in certain states can administer them.Unclear is whether the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which Kennedy stocked with members critical of coronavirus vaccination, will urge additional curbs.“We’re anxiously awaiting what’s going to happen,” said Dr. Phil Huang, a family physician who directs the Dallas County health and human services department. The panel’s decisions especially affect low-income families who receive shots through the federally funded health programs but, he added, “it’s causing just a lot of confusion” for the public.The panel opened the second day of its meeting with continued confusion over a question it left hanging Thursday — whether to end a longstanding CDC recommendation that all newborns be vaccinated at birth against a liver virus, hepatitis B. The panel had been considering whether to recommend delaying that initial vaccination — something doctors and parents already can choose to do. But amid criticism from independent pediatric and infectious disease specialists who say the vaccine is safe and has helped infant infections drop sharply, the advisers decided Friday to postpone that decision.On Thursday, the panel recommended a new restriction on another childhood vaccine, advocating that children under 4 should receive separate doses for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) and chickenpox instead of the combination known as MMRV. Most at risk for hospitalization are seniors and young children — especially those who were unvaccinated. With rising urgency, major health groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, are urging wider availability of COVID-19 vaccines across all age groups. Meanwhile, states and health insurers are taking steps to ensure access remains unimpeded in light of the new restrictions.
