▼ Summary
– The government has reopened, allowing the controversial vaccine advisory panel appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy to resume efforts to dismantle the federal childhood vaccine schedule.
– A previously postponed meeting has been rescheduled for December 4 and 5 to discuss vaccine safety, immunization schedules, and hepatitis B vaccines, with a vote expected on hepatitis B vaccines.
– In June, Kennedy fired all 17 preeminent experts from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and replaced them with 12 new members who are questionably qualified and hold anti-vaccine views.
– During the September meeting, the panel abandoned a planned vote on altering hepatitis B vaccine recommendations after realizing the proposal was not data-driven and made no sense.
– Hepatitis B vaccines are given in three doses starting at birth to protect against a serious, often chronic liver infection, with data showing no significant safety concerns for the vaccine, including the birth dose.
Following the recent government shutdown, a contentious advisory panel appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy is quickly resuming its review of the nation’s childhood immunization schedule. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has rescheduled a critical meeting for December 4 and 5. This gathering was originally planned for October but was postponed due to the funding lapse. According to a Federal Register notice published Thursday, the agenda will cover vaccine safety, the childhood and adolescent immunization schedule, and hepatitis B vaccines. The notice also indicated a planned vote on hepatitis B vaccine recommendations, though it provided few additional specifics.
Traditionally, ACIP has been comprised of highly qualified, thoroughly vetted vaccine specialists. However, this past June, Kennedy dismissed all seventeen previous members and appointed twelve new individuals. Many of these new appointees hold questionable qualifications and are known for espousing anti-vaccine viewpoints, a significant departure from the committee’s historical composition.
During the panel’s last meeting in September, members intended to vote on changing the existing guidelines for hepatitis B immunization. They abruptly canceled the vote after recognizing that their proposed new recommendation was not grounded in scientific evidence and was fundamentally illogical.
The hepatitis B vaccine is typically given in a three-dose series: the first dose at birth, the second between one and two months of age, and the third between six and eighteen months. This schedule is designed to protect infants from a serious liver infection. When contracted early in life, hepatitis B frequently develops into a chronic condition, which can lead to severe liver disease and liver cancer. Administering the first dose immediately after birth closes any potential window of vulnerability to the highly contagious virus, which can be transmitted by individuals unaware they are infected. An estimated 2.4 million people in the United States live with hepatitis B, and roughly half of them do not know they have the virus.
At the September meeting, Adam Langer, the acting principal deputy director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and Tuberculosis Prevention, presented extensive data. He emphasized that the hepatitis B vaccine, including the critical birth dose, has a strong safety profile with no significant concerns identified.
(Source: Ars Technica)
