CDC vaccine advisory panel meets in Atlanta for final day of high-stakes votes

ATLANTA — A new vaccine advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is meeting for a second and final day in Atlanta, with members set to decide on recommendations that could reshape how several vaccines are given in the U.S.

The panel voted unanimously to stop recommending the COVID-19 vaccine for all. Instead, it advises “individual decision making”.

The panel said those 65 and older and those with increased risk for serious covid infection can get the vaccine.

The discussion comes after the Food and Drug Administration limited approval of the updated shot to adults 65 and older, as well as younger patients with increased risk of complications. CDC scientist Jon Su is scheduled to present new safety data before members vote on updated recommendations.

On Friday morning, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to recommend that all pregnant women be tested for Hepatitis B. However, the panel postponed a decision on whether to change the timing of when babies receive their first Hepatitis B vaccine dose.

The current guidance calls for newborns to be vaccinated within 24 hours of birth, but the panel had considered delaying the first shot until at least one month of age. That vote will now be revisited at a later date.

Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, with the American Medical Association, urged the panel Thursday to keep the existing guidelines, warning of the risks if the shot is delayed. “The American Medical Association strongly urges ACIP to keep the recommendation for newborns to receive this Hepatitis B vaccine dose,” she said.

Fryhofer noted Hepatitis B can be transmitted in utero, adding, “When it’s spread in utero, 90% of infants will remain chronically infected; and chronic means just that, the infection does not go away.”

National Foundation for Infectious Diseases’s Dr. Flor Munoz stands behind the current recommendations.

On Thursday, the panel voted to drop its recommendation for the combination MMRV vaccine, measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox for children under age 4. Some medical experts warn that the move could lead to an increase in outbreaks.

Meanwhile, community members and health advocates are rallying outside the CDC’s Chamblee campus Friday morning to voice concerns about the panel’s decisions.