The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices began two days of meetings on Tuesday to discuss potentially changing recommendations for a variety of vaccines, just days after five new members were added.
The ACIP provides the federal government with guidance on vaccines. Members often weigh in before the cold and flu season to recommend updates to annual flu and COVID-19 shots.
On Thursday, the committee is set to vote on guidance involving the MMRV and hepatitis B vaccines. The MMRV vaccine gives parents the option to combine the measles, mumps and rubella shot with varicella, which protects against chickenpox.
The ACIP will consider evidence on differences in febrile seizures between children who receive the MMR and varicella as two separate, simultaneous shots versus one MMRV shot.
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Despite concerns, presenters say there is “no evidence of significant differences in incidence” between the two methods.
The ACIP will also discuss — and potentially vote on — changing when the hepatitis B shot is administered, after concerns were raised at the panel’s June meeting.
The committee also faces key decisions on this year’s COVID-19 booster. Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration limited approval of COVID-19 vaccines to people 65 and older and those with preexisting health conditions. Following the FDA’s announcement, pharmacies in some states stopped offering the shots to all adults.
The meeting comes a day after Dr. Susan Monarez, the ousted director of the CDC, told a Senate panel that she was fired for “holding the line on scientific integrity.”
“Secretary Kennedy demanded two things of me that were inconsistent with my oath of office and the ethics required of a public official. He directed me to commit in advance to approving every ACIP recommendation regardless of the scientific evidence," she said. “He also directed me to dismiss career officials responsible for vaccine policy without cause. He said if I was unwilling to do both, I should resign. I responded that I could not pre-approve recommendations without reviewing the evidence.”
