CDC Advisers End Universal Covid Vaccine Recommendations

(MENAFN- Live Mint) (Bloomberg) -- Members of a federal advisory panel hand-selected by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voted to end the universal recommendation that people of all ages get Covid shots, meaning Americans have to confer with a medical professional before getting a vaccine.

Covid shots have been in the crosshairs since Kennedy, a vaccine critic, was named health secretary. Earlier this year, the health secretary unilaterally removed the Covid shot from the list of recommended vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women. A few months later, the FDA further limited which Americans are eligible for the shots. The panel's vote now cements changes to how shots are distributed by recommending people seek medical input, even those at high risk of serious complications from the virus.

After debating two other childhood vaccines, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices turned its attention to Covid shots on the second day of its two-day meeting, raising issues about access to vaccines developed under President Donald Trump's Operation Warp Speed Initiative that were once heralded for containing the novel virus.

“We think it is appropriate to be discussed between a medical provider and a patient,” said panelist Retsef Levi, a professor of operations management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the leader of the panel's working group on Covid. The group believes the effectiveness of the Covid booster is based on“low-quality data and analyses,” he said, with safety concerns that have yet to be addressed.

Panelist and pharmacist Hillary Blackburn moved to remove language that would require a doctor's note to receive a Covid vaccine, saying that it could make it too hard for some people to get the shot. Panelists said doctors or pharmacists should be able to consult with people on whether to get a Covid vaccine or booster.

After another debate, the panel narrowly voted against requiring a doctor's prescription for Covid shots. The ACIP panel does not have the authority to require prescriptions, an issue several members pointed out as they voted against it. That is done through the US Food and Drug Administration.

“This vote provides for immunization coverage through all payment mechanisms including entitlement programs such as Children's Health Insurance Program, Medicaid, and Medicare, as well as insurance plans through the federal Health Insurance Marketplace,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.

Other Shots

ACIP is an influential group that helps determine which immunizations are available in the US. Their guidance determines which shots are free in a program that offers vaccines for around half of the country's children.

On Thursday, the panel recommended against giving Merck & Co.'s combination vaccine to protect against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox to children under the age of 4. About 15% of the youngest children in the US typically get Merck's ProQuad. Restricting access to it marks one of the first changes to the childhood immunization schedule under Kennedy, who has widely criticized it.

After hours of debate Thursday over the safety of vaccinating newborns against hepatitis B - something that has been recommended for decades - the panel delayed a closely watched vote to push back newborns' first doses of hepatitis B vaccines, a move experts had warned could have resulted in increased spread of a dangerous disease.

The decision to delay the newborn hepatitis B shot stemmed from members wanting more time to consider the evidence. Panelists raised concerns about language suggesting decisions should be shared by doctors and parents.

Before the delay, the panel did vote to recommend that all pregnant women be tested for hepatitis B.

A spokesperson for HHS said that this test is covered across insurance programs and its goal is“to assure that women with hepatitis B and their newborns can be properly cared for to reduce transmission of the virus.”

Hepatitis B is a highly transmissible viral infection that can attack the liver. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends that the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine be given within 24 hours of birth to protect newborns who may have been exposed to the virus during labor and delivery. The American Academy of Pediatrics says this is critical to reduce chronic hepatitis B later in life.

--With assistance from Madison Muller and Damian Garde.

(Updates with the Covid debate throughout.)

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