Kennedy's vaccine committee plans to vote on COVID-19, hepatitis B and chickenpox shots

"Officials at the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to questions seeking details to a newly posted agenda. But some public health experts are worried that the votes will at a minimum raise unwarranted new questions about vaccines in the minds of parents. Perhaps even more consequential would be a vote that restricts a government program from paying for vaccines for low-income families."

"I'm tightening my seat belt, said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University vaccines expert. The panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, makes recommendations to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how already-approved vaccines should be used. CDC directors have almost always accepted those recommendations, which are widely heeded by doctors and guide vaccination programs."

"Kennedy, a leading antivaccine activist before becoming the nation's top health official, fired the entire 17-member panel earlier this year and replaced it with a group that includes several anti-vaccine voices. Here's a look at the three vaccines being discussed: COVID-19 Before Kennedy was health secretary, ACIP would typically vote in June to reaffirm recommendations for shots against respiratory viruses that sicken millions of Americans each fall and winter."

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s reconstituted Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meets in Atlanta to vote on potential changes to recommendations for COVID-19, hepatitis B and chickenpox vaccines. The exact questions on the agenda are unclear and Department of Health and Human Services officials did not respond to requests for details. Some public health experts warn the votes could raise unwarranted questions among parents and might restrict a government program that pays for vaccines for low-income families. The committee advises the CDC director, whose predecessors have almost always accepted ACIP recommendations. Kennedy replaced the previous 17-member panel with members including anti-vaccine voices.

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