Additional Coverage:
- CDC vaccine advisory committee meets to discuss hepatitis B shot, childhood schedule (abcnews.go.com)
CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee Under Scrutiny Ahead of Key Meetings
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) vaccine advisory committee, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), is slated to convene on Thursday and Friday for its third meeting this year. The agenda includes critical discussions on the childhood vaccine schedule, vaccine adjuvants and contaminants, and the hepatitis B vaccine.
This series of meetings follows a significant shake-up initiated by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who dismissed all 17 previous ACIP members and appointed new individuals, many of whom have publicly voiced vaccine-skeptical viewpoints.
Adding to the changes, the ACIP will be chaired by Dr. Kirk Milhoan, a pediatric cardiologist and former U.S.
Air Force flight surgeon, during these upcoming sessions. This marks the first meeting since the former chair, Martin Kulldorff, accepted a permanent position at HHS.
Dr. Milhoan is also a fellow with the Independent Medical Alliance, an organization known for advocating unproven treatments for COVID-19.
Hepatitis B Vaccine for Infants: A Point of Contention
A draft agenda indicates that the first day of the meeting will be dedicated to discussions and a potential vote on recommendations concerning the hepatitis B vaccine. Experts anticipate that the universal hepatitis B vaccine dose administered to newborns will be a central topic.
Currently, the CDC recommends that infants receive their first dose of the three-dose hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth. Medical professionals widely credit this universal birth dose policy with significantly reducing hepatitis B infections in U.S. babies.
However, Secretary Kennedy Jr. has previously made unsubstantiated claims linking the hepatitis B vaccine to autism, and former ACIP chair Kulldorff questioned the wisdom of universal newborn vaccination earlier this year.
Dr. Richard Besser, CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and former acting director of the CDC, expressed deep concern about the potential outcomes of these discussions.
“We have an administration [that] seems hellbent on undermining people’s trust in vaccination,” Dr. Besser told ABC News.
Dr. Fiona Havers, a former CDC official specializing in vaccine policy, fears the committee may seek to minimize the perceived harm of altering the long-standing recommendation.
She suggests the panel might propose screening mothers for hepatitis B and only vaccinating infants born to positive or unknown status mothers. Dr.
Havers cautioned that this approach was previously abandoned due to continued infant and child infections.
“Babies can be infected not only by their mother if she has hepatitis B, but also by caregivers or others in the community who may not know that they have hepatitis B and any change to the routine recommendation means that we will see an increase in hepatitis B infections in infants and children,” Dr. Havers warned. She emphasized the risk of chronic infection, liver disease, and liver cancer in infants infected with hepatitis B.
Childhood Immunization Schedule and Adjuvants Under Review
The second day of the meeting will focus on the broader childhood immunization schedule. Details on the draft agenda are sparse, listing topics such as CDC vaccine risk monitoring, vaccine schedule history, and general considerations for the childhood/adolescent immunization schedule.
Earlier this year, the ACIP established two new work groups: one to examine the cumulative effects of children receiving all recommended vaccines and another to review vaccines not assessed in over seven years.
Secretary Kennedy Jr. has previously suggested that children receive an excessive number of vaccine doses, claiming an increase from three during his childhood to 92 today. Medical experts, however, contend that children typically receive around 30 vaccine doses, with the number of recommended immunizations evolving with scientific advancements.
Dr. Besser expressed significant apprehension regarding the review of the immunization schedule, noting that he has not heard safety concerns from vaccine experts, pediatricians, or patient advocacy groups. “There had not been concerns raised around the immunization schedule and forming a group that is going to look at [the schedule] wholesale when the going-in presumption is that it’s not safe really, really worries me,” he stated.
The panel will also delve into “adjuvants and contaminants” in vaccines. Secretary Kennedy Jr. has previously claimed that aluminum adjuvants are neurotoxins linked to allergies. The CDC, however, maintains that adjuvants are safe ingredients used for over 70 years to enhance immune responses in vaccines.