Ousted ACIP Adviser Says Physicians Should Now Seek Guidance Elsewhere
Helen Chu, MD, urged doctors to find "science-based recommendations" from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Chu noted, "It puts us in a very dangerous place if we can't trust the national recommendations made by ACIP."
MedPage Today:
Docs Should Turn Away From ACIP's Vaccine Recommendations, Ex-Member Says
A recently ousted member of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) said Thursday that she is recommending that physicians go to sources other than ACIP for vaccine scheduling recommendations. "It puts us in a very dangerous place if we can't trust the national recommendations made by ACIP," said Helen Chu, MD, professor of allergy and infectious diseases at the University of Washington, in Seattle. (Frieden, 6/12)
Bloomberg:
RFK Jr.’s New Vaccine Panel Includes Two Paid Witnesses Against Merck
Two new vaccine advisers tapped by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have served as paid expert witnesses for plaintiffs suing Merck & Co. over some of the drug company’s inoculations targeting measles, mumps and cancer. Robert Malone, a scientist who has espoused debunked theories about the safety of vaccines, along with Martin Kulldorff, a Harvard-trained epidemiologist who has studied their side effects, were added to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s committee on immunization policy. Both men have been hired by plaintiffs’ attorneys in the past to opine about Merck’s handling of its vaccines, court filings show. (Feeley and Garde, 6/12)
The Hill:
Donald Trump's Former Surgeon General Rips Robert F. Kennedy Jr's Purge Of Vaccine Board
President Trump’s former surgeon general blasted Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to fire the entirety of a federal advisory committee on vaccine guidance, saying the move jeopardizes public health and threatens public trust in health institutions. In an op-ed published by Time, former Surgeon General Jerome Adams wrote that Kennedy’s recent actions cast doubt over his pledge that, “We won’t take away anyone’s vaccines.” (Choi, 6/12)
KFF Health News:
KFF Health News’ ‘What The Health?’: RFK Jr. Upends Vaccine Policy, After Promising He Wouldn’t
After explicitly promising senators during his confirmation hearing that he would not interfere in scientific policy over which Americans should receive which vaccines, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week fired every member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the group of experts who help the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention make those evidence-based judgments. Kennedy then appointed new members, including vaccine skeptics, prompting alarm from the broader medical community. (Rovner, 6/12)
KFF Health News:
Kennedy’s HHS Sent Congress ‘Junk Science’ To Defend Vaccine Changes, Experts Say
A document the Department of Health and Human Services sent to lawmakers to support Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to change U.S. policy on covid vaccines cites scientific studies that are unpublished or under dispute and mischaracterizes others. One health expert called the document “willful medical disinformation” about the safety of covid vaccines for children and pregnant women. (Fortiér, 6/13)
On insurance coverage of vaccines —
Bloomberg:
Will Insurance Cover Vaccines? RFK Jr. Moves Leave Free Shots In Doubt
Public health experts are taking it upon themselves to counter recent moves by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that could dramatically change US vaccine policy. They have formed a shadow group of specialists who can give recommendations on who should receive which vaccines, and are urging insurers to continue paying for shots. (Cohrs Zhang, Nix, and Smith, 6/12)
CIDRAP:
Groups Call For Continued Insurance Coverage For COVID Vaccines In Pregnancy
Dozens of medical and public health organizations have signed a letter urging insurers to continue covering COVID-19 vaccination in pregnant patients. The letter from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is in response to the recent move by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to no longer recommend COVID-19 shots for healthy pregnant women. (Dall, 6/12)
On the RSV vaccine —
Stat:
FDA Approves Moderna RSV Vaccine Use For People Aged 18 To 59
The Food and Drug Administration expanded the approval of Moderna’s RSV vaccine on Thursday, extending the license to include adults aged 18 to 59 who are at high risk of severe illness if they contract respiratory syncytial virus. (Branswell, 6/12)
