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Vax Panel Takes On COVID, Hep B, And MMRV Vaccines. Here’s What They Decided.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) — a highly influential Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) vaccine panel — held discussions and votes over the past two days on a number of vaccinations.
Specifically, the CDC panel discussed the MMRV, hepatitis B, and COVID vaccines.
On the MMRV vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox, the panel voted to delay the shot until a child is at least four years old, citing an increased risk in febrile seizures. It’s still currently recommended that the MMR and chickenpox vaccine, separately, be given to young children.
The hepatitis B shot was also widely discussed, but ultimately a vote to delay the first dose, which is currently given at birth, was kicked for another time. Some advocates say the first dose is not necessary at birth if the mother herself tests negative for the disease, since hepatitis B is transmitted sexually or by blood.
The panel did vote to recommend all pregnant women be tested for hepatitis B, a test that is covered across all insurance programs, according to Health and Human Services (HHS).
Lastly, the panel took on COVID vaccines. The panel recommended that the shot “be determined by individual decision-making.” This means there is no longer a broad recommendation for all, but instead, individuals will decide after discussions with providers, including physicians, nurses, and pharmacists, according to HHS.
“It allows for immunization coverage through all payment mechanisms including entitlement programs such as the Vaccines for Children Program, Children’s Health Insurance Program, Medicaid, and Medicare, as well as insurance plans through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace,” HHS adds.
During this latest meeting, five new appointees were named to ACIP: Catherine M. Stein, Dr. Evelyn Griffin, Hilary Blackburn, Dr. Kirk Milhoan, and Dr. Raymond Pollak.
ACIP is highly influential. The panel meets a few times a year and makes recommendations to the CDC, thereby basically setting the childhood vaccine schedule and other vaccine-related recommendations, like flu shots and COVID vaccines. ACIP also heavily influences which vaccines are covered by both public and private insurance.
Back in June, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed all sitting ACIP panel members over what he said were conflicts of interest. At the time, Kennedy argued in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal that ACIP had lost the trust of the American people, effectively becoming a “rubber-stamp” for all vaccines while ignoring safety concerns and conflict of interest rules.
He said that ACIP had “never recommended against a vaccine—even those which were later withdrawn for safety reasons,” adding that the panel “failed to scrutinize vaccine products given to babies and pregnant women.”
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