Three days before the ACIP’s meeting last week, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed five new members to the ACIP, a process that usually takes months. The panel now has a total of 12 members. The new members will “bring diverse expertise that strengthens the committee and ensures it fulfills its mission with transparency, independence, and…
ACIP recommends COVID vaccine based on “individual decision making”
Last Friday, the ACIP voted to recommend COVID vaccination “based on individual-based decision-making” for adults 65 and older. For individuals 6 months to 64 years old, the vaccine is recommended based on individual decision, “with an emphasis that the risk-benefit of vaccination is more favorable for individuals who are at an increased risk for severe…
ACIP voted to stop recommending MMRV vaccine for young children
The ACIP met this week to vote on recommendations for the MMRV, Hepatitis B and COVID vaccines. On Thursday, they voted to recommend separate MMR and varicella vaccines for children under four, instead of the combination MMRV vaccine. On Friday, they voted to table the Hepatitis B decision for another meeting. Also on Friday, the…
Vaccine makers’ stocks continue to spiral as the segment faces fresh pressures
On Friday, Kevenue, the maker of Tylenol, saw its stocks drop more than 10% after the Wall Street Journal reported that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy plans to release a federal report connecting prenatal use of Tylenol to autism. As Kennedy and his appointed vaccine panel continue to erode vaccine recommendations, many…
Florida could become the first state to remove vaccine mandates for school
Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, the Florida surgeon general, announced at an event on Wednesday that the Department of Health, working with the governor, would “end all vaccine mandates in Florida law.” He also compared vaccine mandates to slavery. “Your body is a gift from God. What you put into your body is because of your…
ACIP’s COVID vaccine workgroup to be headed by vaccine skeptic Retsef Levi
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chose Retsef Levi, a management and health analytics expert at MIT, to lead its COVID-19 immunization workgroup. Levi announced on X that he is “looking forward to working with colleagues… to pursue the truth through science and evidence-based approach.” Levi, one of the eight new ACIP members…
CDC’s ACIP supports COVID-19 boosters for all adults
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) at the CDC voted unanimously to allow all fully vaccinated adults to receive a COVID-19 booster at least six months after receiving a primary series. All 11 members of the panel also voted on Nov. 19 to recommend boosters for adults 50 and older. Last week, FDA authorized…
ACIP votes unanimously backs GSK’s shingles vaccine Shingrix for immunocompromised adults 19 and older
CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) unanimously recommended two doses of GlaxoSmithKline’s (NYSE:GSK) Shingrix (a recombinant adjuvanted zoster vaccine) for adults 19 and older with immunodeficiency or immunosuppression as a result of disease or therapy. CDC considers Shingrix to be an adult vaccine, and its recommendation is for the adult immunization schedule, which begins…
Vaccine panel postpones vote on J&J COVID-19 vaccine
A CDC advisory committee decided not to vote on how Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine should be deployed, reasoning that it needs more time to review data related to rare blood clots potentially linked to the vaccine. The CDC and FDA announced on April 13 their recommendation to pause the vaccine’s use on safety grounds.…
Who should get COVID-19 vaccines first? CDC advisors have ideas
An estimated 21 million U.S. healthcare workers should be among the first to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a CDC advisory committee. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) within the CDC met yesterday to discuss how to best allocate COVID-19 vaccines. Members of the group will formalize their recommendations by voting after FDA…