A key CDC committee voted Thursday to change its recommendations for young children’s vaccines, after discussions sometimes made vaccine skeptics doubt about the CDC’s own data.
After an 8-to-3 vote on a waiver, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Habits will no longer recommend children under 4 years of age to receive a single shot of mumps, measles, rubella and chickenpox (the well-known chicken pox).
Instead, the CDC will recommend that children between 12 and 15 months get two separate shots simultaneously: one for mumps, measles and rubella (MMR) and the other for Varicella.
The first vote of the committee’s two-day meeting represents a relatively small change in current immunization practice. The committee will vote on proposed changes to the childhood hepatitis B and Covid vaccines on Friday.
But doctors say the lack of expertise and vaccine skepticism in much of the discussion will only further dilute public trust in science and public health guidance.
“I think the main goal of this meeting has happened, and that is to sow distrust and instill fear in parents and families,” Dr. Sean O’Leary, chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Infectious Diseases Committee, said in a Zoom news conference Thursday.
“What we saw at the conference today is not actually a sincere effort to develop immunization policies for the best interests of Americans. Frankly, it is a shocking attempt to undermine one of the most successful public health systems in the world,” O’Leary said. “The idea that our current vaccine policy is broken or requires a thorough overhaul is simply wrong.”
The relative risk of seizures given to MMR and chickenpox vaccines in the same shot is higher than that of children under 4 years of age who are relatively high after vaccination – eight of 10,000 children usually received a quarter of the combined MMR and Chinkerpox shots while receiving 10,000 points.
Former childhood infectious disease Dr. Cody Meissner said the pain of seizures is a relatively common side effect on high temperatures in young children and is associated with any long-term consequences.
Meissner said the problem with splitting the vaccine into multiple shots is that it often leads to lower compliance with the vaccine. The risk of not getting vaccinated is real.
“We are investigating the risk benefits of high-temperature epilepsy…and this consequence is devastating compared to coverage of herd immunity below 95%, as pregnant women lose babies, die newborns, and suffer from congenital rubella syndrome,” said Dr. Joseph Hibbeln. “Psychiatirist and Neurist and Neurscientist Accipist and AcipIctisticalist AccipIctisticalist Accipitist and other existing members.
Meissner, Hibbeln and Hilary Blackburn are the only three members who voted against the change.
The meeting ends with a vote on the ongoing coverage of CDC MMRV shooting Children’s Vaccine ProgramThis is a publicly funded service that provides immunization to children in nearly half of the country. VFC currently only covers ACIP-recommended photos.
When Chairman Martin Kulldorff said the vote, several committee members complained that they did not understand the proposal’s writing. The three completely abstained.
When the meeting breaks down, members can be heard trying to clarify to each other what they just voted for.
The committee also spent hours debating whether the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine was delayed, a shot usually given at birth until the child is one month old. They will vote on Friday’s proposal.
The medical reasons for changing hepatitis C are not clear.
“What problems did we solve in the hepatitis C discussion? As far as I know, one of the few people who raised their views during the discussion and public commentary,” said pediatrician Dr. Amy Middleman.
Commission member Dr. Robert Malone replied that the recommendation to change the vaccine for children to vaccinate hepatitis C will improve Americans’ trust in public health information.
“The large population in the United States has significant concerns about vaccine policies and vaccine regulations. [particularly] “This vaccine is provided immediately at birth. Promoting this is not a sign of safety, but a trust,” Malone said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says hepatitis C is usually asymptomatic and half of the infected people don’t know they have it. As many as 85% of babies born to infected mothers are infected, with a higher risk of long-term harm to the disease and the earlier the infection.
Infants who contracted hepatitis C virus in the first year of their lives There are 90% chances of suffering from chronic diseases, while 25% will die from According to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Since the vaccine was introduced in 1991 Infant hepatitis B infection The United States has dropped by 95% Nearly 14,000 children Hepatitis C infection was obtained between 1990 and 2002, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Today, the new year infection for children is Nearly zero.
This week’s two-day meeting is the second time the committee has met since Kennedy All 17 former ACIP members fired In June, he describe As a “clean sweep” [that] It is necessary to rebuild confidence in vaccine science. ”
The next day, he named seven new members the committee and added the last five earlier this week. New members include doctors with relevant experience in pediatrics, immunology and public health, as well as several outspoken vaccine skeptics or people criticized for spreading medical misinformation.
These include Vicky Pebsworth, the head of research at the National Center for Vaccine Information, the organization A long history Share inaccurate and misleading information about vaccines, and Malone is a vaccine scientist who contributed to early mRNA research False and derogatory assertions About the flu and co-shooting.
In some cases, new ACIP members also lack any form of medical or public health experience. For example, Retsef Levi is a professor of operations management at MIT, without a biomedical or clinical degree, but remains an outspoken critic of vaccines.
“Appointing members of anti-vaccine groups as the CDC’s policy-making committee, the FDA elevates them from the edge to the mainstream. They’re not only on the table, it’s bad enough; they’re responsible.” Research on the role of NVIC When spreading vaccine error messages. “This is the worst case.”
Although ACIP holds three public meetings per year, it usually operates throughout the year. Dr. Paul Offitdirector of the Center for Vaccine Education at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia and a member of ACIP in the early 2000s.
New recommendations for the vaccine schedule are usually consulted with the expert working group before the ACIP meeting, which recommends members of the committee throughout the year, Offit said. But in August, medical groups including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases were told they were No more invitations Review scientific evidence and provide advice to the committee before the meeting.
That same month, Kennedy fired Dr. Susan Monarez, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who was appointed to the position by President Trump and confirmed by the Senate. Monares last Wednesday Tell the Senate Committee Kennedy fired her in part because she refused to sign changes to his planned vaccine schedule this month without seeing scientific evidence.
She did not specify what these changes were at the hearing.
ACIP’s recommendations are only formal when approved by the CDC directors. With Monarez out, the responsibility is now Jim O’Neill, deputy secretary of Health and Human Services, who serves as acting director of the CDC.
ask By reporter Whether the U.S. public should believe in any changes to ACIP’s childhood immunization program, Senator Bill Cassidy (Rep. – Los Angeles) was blunt on Wednesday: “No”
Cassidy chair Senate Committee Supervise HHS, and vote Kennedy’s nomination. Before the campaign office, liver expert Cassidy formed a public-private partnership Non-cost hepatitis C vaccination For 36,000 children in Louisiana.
He voted after Kennedy privately assured Cassidy that he would maintain an immunization program in disease prevention and control.
Alternative sources of information have been strengthened as public trust in the integrity of CDC guidelines. Earlier this year, American Academy of Pediatrics Announce It will release its own evidence-based vaccination schedule, unlike the CDC’s flu and co-shoots. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday Signed a law Grant California the power to establish its own immunization schedule, the same day the state works with Oregon and Washington Issuing joint recommendations For COVID-19, flu and RSV vaccines.
On Tuesday, the association representing many American health insurance companies announced that its members will continue to cover all vaccines recommended by the last ACIP, regardless of what happened at the meeting Thursday until the end of 2026.
“While health plans continue to operate in an environment shaped by federal and state laws and in the environments required by programs and clients, evidence-based immunization methods will remain consistent,” the U.S. Health Insurance Program In a statement said. The group includes major insurance companies such as Aetna, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, Cigna and several Blue Groups. UnitedHealthcare, the largest insurer in the United States, is not a member.
It is not clear what will be covered after 2026.
