US Vaccine Panels Shift COVID-19 Guidance to Individual Choice, Delay Newborn Hepatitis B Vote, and Restrict MMRV
US vaccine committees shift COVID-19 guidance to individual choice, postpone newborn hepatitis B decisions, and restrict MMRV for young children, reflecting a turbulent policy landscape.
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Overview
- US vaccine advisory panels have postponed votes on delaying the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns, particularly for those whose mothers test negative, due to ongoing debate and skepticism regarding its necessity at birth.
- Committees have voted to stop recommending the combined MMRV vaccine for children under four, instead advising separate MMR and varicella shots due to a slight increased risk of febrile seizures in young children.
- Federal vaccine panels are shifting COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, emphasizing individual-based decision-making for most adults and younger individuals, while prioritizing those 65 and older or with underlying health conditions.
- Despite internal divisions and concerns about access barriers, committees ultimately voted against requiring prescriptions for COVID-19 vaccines, aiming to maintain broad access while promoting thorough informed consent processes.
- The vaccine policy landscape is highly politicized under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., whose reconstituted panel explicitly does not recommend COVID-19 vaccines for all US residents.
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Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame this story by emphasizing the politicization of vaccine policy under Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s leadership and the resulting "chaotic" and "turbulent" changes to COVID-19 vaccine access. They highlight concerns from medical experts about the "erosion of integrity" in the advisory process, selective data use, and the potential for reduced vaccine availability, portraying the new panel's actions as problematic and disruptive.
"The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (Acip) also narrowly voted against advocating prescriptions for the Covid vaccine."
BBC News"The panel's recommendations will be sent to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency that has been rocked by disagreements over Kennedy's vaccine policies."
ABC News"The inexperienced and dubiously qualified panel did not have a good grasp of how any of their recommendations would translate to real-world practices."
ARS Technica"The panel’s recommendations will be sent to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency that has been rocked by disagreements over Kennedy’s vaccine policies."
Associated Press"The ACIP's recommendation to move to an individualized approach may further delay or prevent people from obtaining a covid-19 booster if they so choose."
Gizmodo"The recommendation, experts say, is likely to create roadblocks for people who want to get a Covid shot this fall but are left out of ACIP’s eligible groups."
NBC News"The end result is that the COVID-19 vaccine could be less available than it has been the last few years."
NPR"The committee's decision falls in line with the Food and Drug Administration’s actions on vaccines ahead of the fall respiratory virus season."
Roll Call"The panel had been expected to recommend delaying the use of the vaccine in babies, currently administered shortly after birth, but some members expressed frustration over a lack of evidence about side effects and said more discussion was needed."
NBC News"The inexperienced, questionably qualified group that has espoused anti-vaccine rhetoric started its second day of deliberations by reversing a vote taken the previous day on federal coverage for the measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine."
ARS Technica"The committee voted 11 to 1 to table action on the birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine, with Kulldorff as the lone dissent."
NPR"The panel takes up COVID-19 vaccinations as the virus remains a public health threat."
Associated Press"For now, universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth remains safe, though for how long, who knows?"
Gizmodo"Experts are also concerned the panel’s actions could narrow access to the vaccines."
Chicago Sun-Times"The committee’s recommendation isn’t final."
NBC News"The changes that have been proposed could result in major disruptions and more illness, experts warned."
ABC News"The panel of vaccine advisors hand-selected by anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voted on Thursday to change the federal vaccine recommendations for children, removing safe, well-established vaccine doses from current schedules and realizing Kennedy's anti-vaccine agenda to erode federal vaccine policy and sow distrust."
ARS Technica"The ACIP’s vote to entirely recommend against the MMRV vaccine for children under four will effectively remove a family’s right to decide which shot their children receive."
Gizmodo"The meeting comes on the heels of a contentious Senate hearing on Wednesday with the recently-ousted CDC director Susan Monarez."
NPR"The CDC’s former director Susan Monarez and former chief medical officer Debra Houry took questions from a Senate committee on Wednesday, painting a picture of a health agency in turmoil—and at risk of harming the people it is meant to serve."
MIT Technology Review"Some doctors and public health experts say they are not aware of any new safety data that would explain the revisiting of those vaccination recommendations."
ABC News"The committee's decisions have a significant influence on who will have access to COVID vaccines this fall and whether babies get vaccinated against Hepatitis B."
NPRArticles (48)
FAQ
The panels postponed the vote due to ongoing debate and skepticism regarding the necessity of hepatitis B vaccination at birth, particularly for newborns whose mothers test negative.
The advisory panels recommended against the combined MMRV vaccine for young children due to a slightly increased risk of febrile seizures; instead, they suggest separate MMR and varicella shots.
The federal vaccine panels have shifted COVID-19 vaccine recommendations to emphasize individual-based decision-making for most adults and younger individuals, prioritizing vaccination mainly for those 65 and older or with underlying health conditions.
They voted against requiring prescriptions to maintain broad access to COVID-19 vaccines while promoting thorough informed consent processes, despite internal divisions and concerns about access barriers.
Under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the reconstituted vaccine panel explicitly does not recommend COVID-19 vaccines for all US residents, contributing to a highly politicized vaccine policy landscape.
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