Illinois counters CDC vaccine changes
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This month a federal panel voted to stop standard hepatitis B vaccinations at birth, but that won't change recommendations and coverage for Illinoisans, according to state health officials.
Why it matters: Medical experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, note that annual hepatitis B cases have dropped 99% (from 16,000 to less than 20) since the practice of birth vaccination began in 1991.
- The panel argued that the vaccine is not necessary for children born to mothers who test negative.
What they're saying: "As a pediatrician and a parent, I am deeply concerned by this shift away from universal newborn vaccination, particularly in the absence of any new scientific evidence to support such a change," Illinois Department of Public Health director Sameer Vohra said in a statement.
- "In Illinois, we remain committed to science-based public health policy and have recently enshrined into law vaccine access and a state-level structure to provide evidence-based recommendations."
Zoom in: That new law, signed by Gov. JB Pritzker this month, creates a framework for Illinois to publish its own vaccine guidelines.
- It requires state-regulated insurance plans to cover vaccines recommended by IDPH experts, even if they extend beyond federal vaccine recommendations.
- It also expands youth vaccine access in Illinois and reduces the minimum age from 7 to 3 for pharmacist administration of certain vaccines.
Zoom out: The hepatitis B vote arrives in the wake of other controversial moves at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overseen by Health and Human Services Secretary and long-time vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy Jr.
- Last month, the CDC updated its website to promote the widely debunked claim that vaccines may cause autism.
- In August, Kennedy ousted the CDC's newly confirmed director, Susan Monarez, who said she was pressured to pre-approve new vaccine guidance and fire career scientists. Kennedy said she was not trustworthy.
- This sparked the resignation of the CDC's immunization director, Demetre Daskalakis, over what she called recent life-threatening policy changes and the "intentional eroding of trust in low-risk vaccines."
- In August, the CDC also limited access to the COVID vaccine.
Between the lines: The new state law and the Illinois Vaccine Access Program (IVAP) are aimed at protecting residents from what many medical experts see as the harmful effects of these federal policies.
- IVAP is designed to help local health departments procure vaccines that can be administered at no cost and to reduce barriers to immunization among key populations.
What's more: Pritzker also recently signed a law that makes mental health care more accessible by increasing reimbursement rates for providers and a law making Illinois the 12th state to allow medically assisted suicide for terminally ill patients.
What's next: The Illinois Immunization Advisory Committee is expected to meet Tuesday to review the latest CDC vaccination recommendations.