A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisory committee meeting scheduled for next week has been postponed to accommodate public comment. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meets three times a year to evaluate newly approved vaccines. The postponement was first reported by Stat News and could potentially put Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at odds with Senator Bill Cassidy, who supports maintaining the committee without change. Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert, believes the move is in line with a conservative policy roadmap that recommends prohibiting the CDC from issuing vaccine guidance.
The ACIP helps the CDC make recommendations on what vaccines to cover, and their guidance must be accepted by the CDC director before becoming official. As of early Thursday afternoon, the meeting agenda included discussions on vaccines from British drugmaker GSK, a new chikungunya vaccine, and an at-home nasal spray for influenza. The postponement may impact insurers’ coverage of these vaccines, as they are mandated to cover recommended vaccines.
Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious diseases expert and consultant for ACIP, expressed concern about the postponement, noting it is rare for a meeting to be postponed outside of Covid-related issues. Berkeley Lovelace Jr., a health and medical reporter for NBC News, covers the FDA, with a focus on Covid vaccines, prescription drug pricing, and healthcare. Brandy Zadrozny also contributed to the reporting.
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