All articles tagged with #acip
This biweekly briefing maps sweeping shifts in U.S. vaccine policy: federal court battles over pediatric vaccine scheduling and ACIP governance, state efforts to roll back school vaccine requirements, regulatory reversals on Moderna’s mRNA flu vaccine, and a leadership shake-up at the CDC, all set against widening data gaps and new data tools from public health researchers and advocates.
Federal vaccine advisers on the ACIP are turning their attention to the next targets—mRNA Covid vaccines and vaccines given during pregnancy—amid warnings from some panelists that Covid shots may be unsafe and calls to pull them from the market; the FDA has rejected DNA-contamination fears, and can only influence use through recommendations, not withdraw vaccines. A new work group will review vaccines for pregnant women, and two Kennedy-appointed members with anti-vaccine views have joined, fueling controversy ahead of the Feb. 25–27 meeting. Despite the dispute, extensive studies have found no safety concerns with vaccines in pregnancy, and the panel’s decisions can still affect coverage and clinical use.
A sweeping shift in U.S. vaccine policy shows a growing split between federal guidance and state actions: the administration cut universal childhood vaccines from 17 to 11 and bypassed ACIP, while the AAP's expanded schedule (18 diseases) gains adoption by many governors; conflicts of interest around vaccine advisory processes, changes to the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, and a wave of state bills on exemptions and mandates are reshaping how vaccines are recommended and required, all as measles and flu outbreaks continue — prompting public engagement and vigilance.
RFK Jr.’s vaccine-advisory panel is being steered to act more like a safety watchdog, with chair Kirk Milhoan saying efficacy will be secondary as the group prioritizes potential harms and safety signals. The pivot, tied to Kennedy’s leadership and past clashes over vaccine policy, alarms public-health experts who warn it could undermine trust in vaccines and slow immunization efforts, even as agencies continue to monitor safety data and reassess recommendations.
The US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is reevaluating all vaccine products and recommendations, signaling potential changes to the childhood immunization schedule amid debates over personal autonomy, school mandates, and public health, against a backdrop of rising measles cases and influence from RFK Jr. at HHS.
Kirk Milhoan, chair of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, suggested re-evaluating the polio vaccine in light of modern sanitation and disease risk, prompting swift backlash from the AMA and raising questions about the future direction of federal vaccine policy as states largely diverge from CDC guidance; meanwhile the AAP and other medical groups defend science-based immunization schedules.
The chair of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices questioned whether broad polio and other childhood-vaccine recommendations remain appropriate, saying the panel should prioritize individual autonomy in vaccination decisions over public health mandates; the remarks drew a rebuke from the American Medical Association as political shifts under Health Secretary Kennedy reshape vaccine policy and school requirements.
The head of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices said vaccines for diseases like polio and measles should be optional and decided in consultation with a clinician, signaling a stance that prioritizes personal choice over broad immunization requirements and raising concerns about protection for infants and the immunocompromised.
ACIP chair Kirk Milhoan argues, in a STAT podcast, that protecting individual autonomy should guide vaccine policy, signaling a shift under Kennedy-era appointees and prompting revisions like delaying hepatitis B vaccination and removing thimerosal from flu vaccines. He also questions the necessity of polio and measles vaccines and notes threats to panel members, drawing backlash from public health advocates who say policy changes risk eroding trust and vaccine uptake.
Seven major medical groups filed a federal lawsuit to overturn the CDC’s updated childhood vaccine schedule, arguing the revisions—narrowing vaccines for meningococcal disease, hepatitis B and hepatitis A and shifting flu, COVID-19 and rotavirus vaccines to shared decision‑making—were made without new safety data and could harm public health. They seek to restore the schedule to its 2025 level and halt ACIP meetings, accusing Kennedy‑appointed advisers of bias; HHS says the ACIP process is lawful and vaccines will still be covered by insurers. The suit is part of a broader challenge to COVID-19 vaccine guidance and reflects ongoing tensions over vaccine policy.
Six major medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, asked a federal judge to reverse the CDC’s newly revised childhood vaccine schedule and to block ACIP’s planned February meeting, arguing the changes lacked new safety evidence and were driven by a directive from Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy after he replaced the previous advisers. The groups want the schedule restored to the April 2025 plan and to replace Kennedy-appointed ACIP members, as a wider litigation over vaccine guidance unfolds; the CDC maintains the process was lawful and insurers will continue covering vaccines the same as before, with ACIP’s February meeting still on the calendar.
Health secretary RFK Jr. appointed two obstetricians who have publicly questioned vaccines and antidepressants during pregnancy to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), expanding the panel after a broad reshuffle; critics warn the move could undermine vaccine safety guidance.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed two obstetrician-gynecologists, Dr. Adam Urato and Dr. Kimberly Biss, to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, despite their histories of challenging vaccine safety consensus and questioning antidepressants in pregnancy. The hires come as Kennedy reshapes ACIP amid concerns about conflicts of interest and amid ongoing debate within the panel over Covid vaccine recommendations and broader immunization policy.
President Kennedy Jr. expanded the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) by naming two obstetricians, Kimberly Biss and Adam Urato, who have publicly criticized vaccines during pregnancy. The move signals a broad reshaping of the panel that guides immunization policy and insurer coverage, drawing praise from vaccine skeptics and concern from public-health groups and medical societies that warn it could undermine consensus on vaccine safety and effectiveness. Biss has said she was not anti-vaccine but became so, and Urato has questioned vaccination during pregnancy; both have suggested strong skepticism toward the vaccine industry. The new members are expected to participate in ACIP’s Feb. 25-26 meeting, with officials framing the appointments as adding clinical experience and a commitment to evidence-based medicine.”,
Secretary Kennedy appointed two obstetricians-gynecologists, Adam Urato and Kimberly Biss, to the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP); their maternal-fetal medicine expertise and leadership help strengthen the panel as ACIP was reconstituted in 2025 to restore public trust in vaccines.