NEW YORK (AP) — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s new vaccine advisory committee meets this week, with votes expected on whether to change recommendations on shots against COVID-19, hepatitis B, and chickenpox.
The exact questions to be voted on Thursday and Friday in Atlanta are unclear. Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to questions about the newly posted agenda.
However, some public health experts are worried that the votes will — at a minimum — raise unwarranted new questions about vaccines in the minds of parents.
Perhaps even more consequential would be a vote that restricts a government program from paying for vaccines for low-income families.
“I’m tightening my seat belt,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University vaccines expert.
The panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, makes recommendations to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how already-approved vaccines should be used. CDC directors have almost always accepted those recommendations, which are widely heeded by doctors and guide vaccination programs.
Kennedy, a leading antivaccine activist before becoming the nation’s top health official, fired the entire 17-member panel earlier this year and replaced it with a group that includes several anti-vaccine voices.
Here’s a look at the three vaccines being discussed:
**COVID-19**
Before Kennedy was health secretary, ACIP would typically vote in June to reaffirm recommendations for shots against respiratory viruses that sicken millions of Americans each fall and winter. This past June, Kennedy’s ACIP voted to recommend flu shots for Americans but was silent on COVID-19 shots.
Before that meeting, Kennedy announced he was removing COVID-19 shots from the CDC’s recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women. The move received heavy criticism from doctors’ groups and public health organizations, leading to a lawsuit by the American Academy of Pediatrics and others.
Days after Kennedy’s announcement, CDC officials stated families could still obtain the 2024-2025 version of COVID-19 shots for their children in consultation with their doctors. This ensured that the shots would continue to be covered by the federal government’s Vaccines For Children program.
With each fall bringing new COVID-19 formulations, the committee has not yet voted on whether to recommend this season’s shots or if they should be federally covered.
Complicating matters further, the FDA recently licensed this fall’s COVID-19 shots with restrictions on their use for healthy younger adults and children. If the ACIP simply follows that recommendation without additional clarifying language from the CDC, it could reduce access for many American children, emphasizes Dr. Sean O’Leary of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
**Hepatitis B**
Hepatitis B can cause serious liver infections and can be spread through sexual contact or sharing needles, but it can also be transmitted from an infected mother to her baby. A hepatitis B vaccine was first licensed in the U.S. in 1981, with ACIP recommending a dose within 24 hours of birth for all medically stable infants who weigh at least 4.4 pounds.
Kennedy’s ACIP members suggested revisiting this guidance in June, despite existing evidence showing no safety issues with newborn vaccinations. Increased guidance is necessary, say experts, especially given that many cases may be missed in screening.
**MMRV (Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella)**
Chickenpox, a highly contagious virus that formerly caused a common childhood illness, can lead to severe complications. A government recommendation for a chickenpox vaccine was made in 1995, which dramatically reduced cases and deaths. The MMRV combo vaccine was licensed in 2006, but studies showed higher incidents of rashes and other effects compared to separate shots.
In 2009, the ACIP changed its recommendation to allow either the combined shot or separate shots for the first dose. Most pediatricians now suggest separate doses for the first shot but choose the combined shot for the second dose.
Asking why it's being revisited, Dr. Sean O’Leary of AAP argues that this reconstitution of ACIP appears to be orchestrated to foster distrust in vaccines.
The exact questions to be voted on Thursday and Friday in Atlanta are unclear. Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to questions about the newly posted agenda.
However, some public health experts are worried that the votes will — at a minimum — raise unwarranted new questions about vaccines in the minds of parents.
Perhaps even more consequential would be a vote that restricts a government program from paying for vaccines for low-income families.
“I’m tightening my seat belt,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University vaccines expert.
The panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, makes recommendations to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how already-approved vaccines should be used. CDC directors have almost always accepted those recommendations, which are widely heeded by doctors and guide vaccination programs.
Kennedy, a leading antivaccine activist before becoming the nation’s top health official, fired the entire 17-member panel earlier this year and replaced it with a group that includes several anti-vaccine voices.
Here’s a look at the three vaccines being discussed:
**COVID-19**
Before Kennedy was health secretary, ACIP would typically vote in June to reaffirm recommendations for shots against respiratory viruses that sicken millions of Americans each fall and winter. This past June, Kennedy’s ACIP voted to recommend flu shots for Americans but was silent on COVID-19 shots.
Before that meeting, Kennedy announced he was removing COVID-19 shots from the CDC’s recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women. The move received heavy criticism from doctors’ groups and public health organizations, leading to a lawsuit by the American Academy of Pediatrics and others.
Days after Kennedy’s announcement, CDC officials stated families could still obtain the 2024-2025 version of COVID-19 shots for their children in consultation with their doctors. This ensured that the shots would continue to be covered by the federal government’s Vaccines For Children program.
With each fall bringing new COVID-19 formulations, the committee has not yet voted on whether to recommend this season’s shots or if they should be federally covered.
Complicating matters further, the FDA recently licensed this fall’s COVID-19 shots with restrictions on their use for healthy younger adults and children. If the ACIP simply follows that recommendation without additional clarifying language from the CDC, it could reduce access for many American children, emphasizes Dr. Sean O’Leary of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
**Hepatitis B**
Hepatitis B can cause serious liver infections and can be spread through sexual contact or sharing needles, but it can also be transmitted from an infected mother to her baby. A hepatitis B vaccine was first licensed in the U.S. in 1981, with ACIP recommending a dose within 24 hours of birth for all medically stable infants who weigh at least 4.4 pounds.
Kennedy’s ACIP members suggested revisiting this guidance in June, despite existing evidence showing no safety issues with newborn vaccinations. Increased guidance is necessary, say experts, especially given that many cases may be missed in screening.
**MMRV (Measles, Mumps, Rubella, and Varicella)**
Chickenpox, a highly contagious virus that formerly caused a common childhood illness, can lead to severe complications. A government recommendation for a chickenpox vaccine was made in 1995, which dramatically reduced cases and deaths. The MMRV combo vaccine was licensed in 2006, but studies showed higher incidents of rashes and other effects compared to separate shots.
In 2009, the ACIP changed its recommendation to allow either the combined shot or separate shots for the first dose. Most pediatricians now suggest separate doses for the first shot but choose the combined shot for the second dose.
Asking why it's being revisited, Dr. Sean O’Leary of AAP argues that this reconstitution of ACIP appears to be orchestrated to foster distrust in vaccines.
