HHS postpones first vaccine advisory meeting of RFK era
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The first CDC vaccine advisory committee meeting since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as HHS secretary has been indefinitely postponed, the department confirmed.
Why it matters: The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, offers guidance on vaccine approvals and influences which shots insurers cover.
- The expert panel was due to meet in Atlanta Feb. 26–28 for discussions about vaccines for COVID-19, meningococcal virus, influenza, RSV, HPV and mpox.
What they're saying: "The ACIP meeting will be postponed to accommodate public comment in advance of the meeting. The ACIP workgroups met as scheduled this month and will present at the upcoming ACIP meeting," HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon wrote in an email.
- The CDC sent an identical statement.
The big picture: ACIP meetings have been rescheduled under previous administrations, but the delay throws into question whether the Trump administration will follow precedent with a leading vaccine critic at the helm of the federal health department.
- Kennedy made a series of commitments this month before he was confirmed by the Senate, including to maintain ACIP recommendations and to work within existing vaccine approval and safety monitoring systems.
- The Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease and 50 medical organizations and experts signed a letter Thursday calling for the meeting to be rescheduled as soon as possible. Other signers included the American Medical Association and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
- "Making America healthy requires healthy discussion and timely, evidence-based decisions. This meeting should ... be no different," the letter read.
Catch up quick: Earlier this week, Kennedy said in an address to HHS staff that "nothing is off limits" in examining the causes of chronic disease, including examining childhood vaccine schedules.
