New Members Of CDC's Vaccine Panel To Review Childhood Vaccine Schedule

The newly appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), led by Martin Kulldorff, announced plans to scrutinize the safety of the childhood vaccine schedule during a meeting on Wednesday (June 25) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) headquarters in Atlanta. This decision aligns with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s longstanding concerns about vaccine safety.

The ACIP, a federal panel that advises the CDC on vaccine policy, will establish a workgroup to evaluate the cumulative effects of the recommended vaccine schedule. This includes examining the interaction between different vaccines, the total number of vaccines, and their ingredients. Kulldorff highlighted that children in the U.S. receive more vaccines than those in most other developed nations.

The panel will also review vaccines that have not been evaluated in over seven years, including the hepatitis B vaccine administered at birth and the timing of the measles vaccine. These moves could potentially alter long-standing immunization practices in the U.S.

The ACIP's decisions influence vaccine requirements for school admissions and public health policies. The committee postponed a vote on recommending a second monoclonal antibody for infants against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and will evaluate a combination measles and chickenpox vaccine on Thursday (June 26).