Breaking News: Advisory Panel Shifts Childhood Immunization Guidance, Sparking Controversy
WASHINGTON – A key advisory panel to the centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has altered its recommendations for the measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine schedule, a move that has ignited debate over the future of childhood immunizations in the United States. The changes occurred during a recent meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), now chaired by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nominee, Dr. Reneé Monarez.
Monarez indicated the committee would be making changes to the vaccine schedule this month without seeing scientific evidence for them. She did not specify during the hearing what those changes would be.
ACIP’s recommendations only become official after the CDC director approves them. With Monarez out, that obligation now goes to Health and Human Services deputy secretary Jim O’Neill, who is serving as the CDC’s acting director.
Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), chair of the Senate committee that oversees HHS and who cast the deciding vote for kennedy’s nomination, expressed deep skepticism about the revised recommendations. “No,” Cassidy stated when asked by reporters whether the U.S. public should trust any changes ACIP recommends to the childhood immunization schedule.
Cassidy’s vote for Kennedy followed a private pledge from Kennedy that he would maintain the CDC immunization schedule.Prior to entering politics,Cassidy,a liver specialist,spearheaded a public-private partnership providing no-cost Hepatitis B vaccinations for 36,000 Louisiana children.
The shift in ACIP guidance comes as trust in CDC guidelines faces increasing scrutiny. The American Academy of Pediatrics announced earlier this year that it would publish its own evidence-based vaccination schedule, differing from the CDC’s on flu and COVID shots. California recently enacted a law granting the state the authority to establish its own immunization schedule and has partnered with Oregon and washington to issue joint recommendations for COVID-19, flu, and RSV vaccines.
Despite the potential for diverging standards, an association representing many U.S. health insurers announced its members will continue to cover all vaccines recommended by the previous ACIP through the end of 2026, stating, “the evidence-based approach to coverage of immunizations will remain consistent.” However, coverage beyond 2026 remains uncertain.