Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Health Experts, Industry Sound Alarm Over New Covid Vaccine Guidance
CBS News: Health Experts Fear Potential Public Health Impacts From RFK Jr. Halting COVID Vaccine Recommendations For Kids, Pregnant Women
Health experts are raising concerns about the potential public health impacts after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy announced the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is rolling back COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for kids and pregnant women. ... Kennedy called the latest move "common sense and good science", but some health experts said the restrictions could have some significant public health impacts. Chicago-area doctors call this change unscientific and "incorrect." (Price and Rezaei, 5/28)
Becker's Hospital Review: COVID-19 Shot Guidance Change Draws Industry Scrutiny
The CDC’s decision to remove COVID-19 vaccines from its recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women has sparked significant concern from healthcare industry groups. While some groups, like the American Hospital Association, took a more neutral stance, others scrutinized the move for bypassing the CDC’s expert advisory group and potentially threatening vaccine access and public health. (Bean, 5/28)
NBC News: FDA Chief Says Pregnant Women Should Decide On Covid Vaccine With Doctors
The Food and Drug Administration commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, said Wednesday that the decision of whether a pregnant woman should get a Covid vaccine should come down to a conversation with her doctor — not a recommendation by the federal government. Makary took part in Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s announcement Tuesday revoking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that Covid shots should be offered to pregnant women and healthy children. (Lovelace Jr., Tsirkin and Sonnier, 5/28)
The 19th: What The Latest COVID Vaccine Changes Mean For Pregnant People And Children
Removing COVID vaccines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for pregnant people or children could impact the availability of the vaccines or if they are covered by insurance. Dr. Sean T. O’Leary, chair of the Committee on Infectious Diseases for the American Academy of Pediatrics, said that removing the recommendation “could strip families of choice.” (Rodriguez and Kutz, 5/28)
The Washington Post: CDC Blindsided As RFK Jr. Changes Vaccine Recommendations
Officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are scrambling to understand Kennedy’s decision, announced in a 58-second video on X on Tuesday morning, which took agency staff by surprise. Five hours later, CDC officials received a one-page “secretarial directive,” dated May 19 and signed by Kennedy, that contradicts some of what he said in his video, according to two current and one former health officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation. (Sun, 5/28)
Also —
CNN: HHS Cancels $590 Million Contract With Moderna For Bird Flu Vaccine
The US Department of Health and Human Services is terminating a contract with drugmaker Moderna to develop a vaccine to protect against bird flu amid the agency’s broader efforts to reevaluate therapies that use mRNA technology. (Dillinger, 5/28)
St. Louis Public Radio: SLU Seeks Flu Test Subjects To Aid Vaccine Development
Reservations are once again open at St. Louis University’s “Hotel Influenza,” where amenities include furnished rooms, daily nasal swabs and a special HVAC system that keeps the viruses infecting each guest from escaping beyond the sealed facility. This unusual arrangement is the university's Extended Stay Research Unit. Converted from a former hotel, the facility’s 24 rooms are reserved for test subjects willing to be infected with the flu for 10 days in exchange for about $3,500. (Wicentowski, 5/28)
