Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
After Hep B Guidance Change, Trump Orders Quick Review Of Vaccine Plan
Politico: Trump Asks RFK Jr. To ‘Fast Track’ Vaccine Schedule Review
President Donald Trump is all in on Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plan to scrutinize the list of vaccines American children get. Trump directed Kennedy on Friday to review the childhood vaccine schedule and potentially revise it to align with those of other developed countries, most of which recommend fewer shots. (Gardner, 12/5)
The Hill: Trump Praises CDC's Revised Hepatitis B Vaccine Guidance
President Trump praised a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) panel’s vote to change guidance for hepatitis B vaccinations as a “very good decision” in a Friday night post on his social platform Truth Social. “Today, the CDC Vaccine Committee made a very good decision to END their Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendation for babies, the vast majority of whom are at NO RISK of Hepatitis B, a disease that is mostly transmitted sexually, or through dirty needles,” Trump wrote. (Venkat, 12/5)
KFF Health News: In RFK Jr.’s Upside-Down World Of Vaccines, Panel Votes To End Hepatitis B Shot At Birth
Recent weeks have brought good news about vaccines, with studies indicating that flu vaccination reduces heart disease, shingles vaccines can prevent or slow dementia, and a single human papillomavirus shot protects a girl from cervical cancer for the rest of her life. But in the upside-down world of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., vaccines are on the ropes. (Allen, 12/5)
CNN: Insurance Coverage Of Hepatitis B Vaccine Won’t Change, Industry And Officials Say
Parents will still be able to get the hepatitis B vaccine for their children at no cost even though the US Centers for Disease and Control Prevention’s vaccine advisers recommended a major change to the immunization practice. (Luhby, 12/7)
Also —
NBC News: Lawyer With Ties To Kennedy Sparks Outcry Over Vaccine Misinformation At CDC Advisory Meeting
An anti-vaccine lawyer who has regularly sued federal and state health agencies spoke Friday at a meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel — an unheard-of departure for the committee, which for decades was a trusted source for vaccine recommendations. The lawyer, Aaron Siri, has also served as the personal attorney for Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist. (Bendix, 12/5)
Politico: CDC Vaccine Panel Chair Compares Team To 'Puppets On A String'
The newly appointed chair of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel privately expressed concerns about the committee’s independence, according to a transcript of remarks obtained by POLITICO. Kirk Milhoan, who was named the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ chair earlier this week, said Friday he felt like committee members were “puppets on a string” rather than independent advisers. (Gardner and Gardner, 12/5)
The Hill: Former FDA Head Criticizes Trump's Hepatitis B Claims
Former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said Sunday that President Trump’s assertions about hepatitis B transmission are “simply not true.” Trump said earlier this week that the disease is “mostly” transmitted sexually or via dirty needles. “That’s the problem. That’s simply not true,” Gottlieb told host Margaret Brennan on CBS News’s “Face the Nation.” (Rego, 12/7)
CIDRAP: Three-Fourths Of Americans Support Hepatitis B Vaccine For Newborns, Poll Finds
Despite today’s approval by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to drop the decades-long universal birth-dose hepatitis B vaccine recommendation, 77% of Americans favor the vaccine for newborns, but only 35% favor giving it at birth and 51% by one month, according to a poll today from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. (Wappes, 12/5)
Related news from Illinois, which can issue its own vaccine guidelines —
Chicago Tribune: Illinois To Review Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendations
Illinois will conduct its own review of a federal vaccine advisory committee’s decision to no longer recommend that all babies get the hepatitis B vaccine when they’re born — a move that’s been blasted by the Chicago-based American Medical Association and other health experts. (Schencker, 12/5)
Chicago Tribune: Chicago Public Schools Measles Vaccination Rate Climbs
Chicago Public Schools has surpassed the recommended threshold for measles vaccinations, with about 96% of its student population now immunized, according to a Tribune analysis of newly released data. Last school year, coverage stood at roughly 94% — below the 95% benchmark that is widely accepted in public health circles, specifically for highly contagious diseases such as measles. (Moses, 12/5)
