ATLANTA (AP) 鈥 Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.鈥檚 new vaccine advisory committee kicked off a two-day session on Thursday morning focused on shots against COVID-19, hepatitis B and chickenpox.
In his opening remarks, committee Chairman Martin Kulldorff defended the group against critics who say it leans toward anti-vaccine views.
鈥淭he members of this ACIP Committee are committed to reassuring the public and restoring public confidence by removing unnecessary risks and harms whenever possible. That is a pro-vaccine agenda,” Kulldorff said.
He later added: 鈥淲e welcome scientific critique of any of our votes, as there are gray areas due to incomplete scientific knowledge.鈥
Votes are expected in the afternoon on hepatitis B and on a combined shot against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox, but Department of Health and Human Services officials have not said exactly what proposals would be considered.
Information on suggests the committee may be poised to roll back 鈥 at least partly 鈥 a longstanding recommendation that virtually all U.S. children get an initial dose of hepatitis B vaccine right after birth.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and many public health officials support that decades-old practice.
Dr. Mysheika Roberts, health department director in Columbus, Ohio, said rates of the liver disease among children have dropped tremendously since it was put into place.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 understand the rationale of why we would stop providing that vaccine and that guidance to babies when we鈥檝e seen such great progress in that area,” said Roberts, who was scheduled to join the vaccine panel but was dismissed by Kennedy. 鈥淚f it’s not broken, why change it?鈥
Kulldorff also has raised the idea of recommending the MMRV combination shot not be given to children younger than 4. In to the committee, he discussed rare instances of feverish seizures that have been associated with the first dose, given to kids between ages 1 and 2.
The ACIP last dealt with the issue in 2009, when it said either the combination shot or separate MMR and varicella shots . Today, most pediatricians suggest separate doses for the first round and give the combined shot for the second dose, pediatrics experts say.
Some doctors and public health experts say they are not aware of any new safety data that would explain the revisiting of those vaccination recommendations. They worry that the panel is raising unwarranted new questions about vaccines in the minds of parents, and that it may limit the ability of families to get their children protected.
The panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, makes recommendations to the director of the on how already-approved vaccines should be used. CDC directors have almost always accepted those recommendations, which are widely heeded by doctors and guide vaccination programs.
Kennedy, a leading antivaccine activist before becoming the nation鈥檚 top health official, earlier this year and with a group that includes several anti-vaccine voices. On Monday, HHS of five more people, some of them noted skeptics of COVID-19 vaccinations or pandemic prevention measures.
Doctors’ groups and public health organizations have voiced alarm about Kennedy and his new panel. Concern intensified in May, when Kennedy COVID-19 shots from the CDC鈥檚 recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women. The move was heavily criticized by doctors鈥 groups and public health organizations, and by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other groups.
The committee is scheduled to make COVID-19 vaccine recommendations on Friday.
The AAP and some others groups have issued their own vaccination recommendations, which disagree with recommendations put out by federal officials this year.
In recent weeks, have announced policies to help residents maintain access to vaccines, in some cases signing orders that ensure COVID-19 vaccinations at pharmacies without individual prescriptions. Wisconsin this week joined a list of more than a dozen to take steps, when Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order for state health officials to follow the guidance of national physician organizations.
___
Ungar reported from Louisville, Kentucky.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute鈥檚 Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
