Delayed CDC meeting on vaccines is rescheduled to April
A postponed meeting of vaccine advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now scheduled to take place in April, a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, had originally been scheduled to meet Feb. 26 to Feb. 28, but was unexpectedly delayed soon after Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime critic of U.S. vaccination policies, took office as health secretary. At that time, an HHS spokesperson said the rescheduling was to allow extra time for public comment.
ACIP, which includes outside vaccine experts as well as federal health officials, will now convene on April 15 and April 16, Andrew Nixon, HHS’ director of communications, wrote in an email to BioPharma Dive.
Endpoints News first reported the rescheduling.
A notice posted Friday ahead of publication Monday in the federal register indicated that advisers will discuss the current measles outbreak, as well as vaccines for COVID-19, human papillomavirus, monkeypox, respiratory syncytial virus and other pathogens.
The agenda for the original February meeting had indicated the advisers would also discuss and vote on influenza vaccine guidelines, but those are no longer on the schedule.
The meeting’s postponement was quickly followed by the abrupt cancellation of a Food and Drug Administration meeting that was slated to discuss flu shot composition ahead of fall and winter season. The FDA held an interagency meeting instead and provided provided its recommendations to vaccine manufacturers without consulting its advisers as it typically does.
The ACIP committee meets several times a year to review data and vote on vaccine recommendations to the CDC director. The administration is currently weighing new nominees to the post after withdrawing President Donald Trump’s original pick Dave Weldon right before a Senate hearing last week.
The CDC director reports to Kennedy and leads public health responses to threats and outbreaks, such as the rising spread of measles in Texas and Oklahoma. There are now 301 confirmed cases in the current outbreak, which led to the first death of a child infected by measles since 2015.
Kennedy has for years questioned the safety and efficacy of many vaccines, including the MMR vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella. Following the child’s death, Kennedy wrote in an opinion piece that the “decision to vaccinate is a personal one.”
Meanwhile, the CDC is reportedly also planning to conduct a large study on vaccines and autism despite ample evidence disproving a connection. During his confirmation hearings, Kennedy would not disavow his long-held position that rising rates of autism in the U.S. are linked to vaccination.
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