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24m ago

CDC Advisers Move to Limit MMRV Use in Children Under 4 After Safety Review

Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill now decides whether to adopt the panel’s recommendation.

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WALSENBURG, CO - AUGUST 05: Medical assistant Elissa Ortivez draws an MMR vaccination at the Spanish Peaks Outreach Clinic on August 5, 2009 in Walsenburg, Colorado. The Spanish Peaks Regional Health Center treats rural Coloradans who come for medical care from throughout southern Colorado, where hospitals and clinics are scarce. The outreach clinic is designed for patients with little or no health coverage. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)
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Overview

  • The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 8–3, with one abstention, to recommend separate MMR and varicella shots for the first dose in young children.
  • The change cites a small, long‑recognized increase in febrile seizures after the first combined MMRV dose—about one extra case per 2,300–2,600 vaccinations—with no added risk reported in older children.
  • In a subsequent vote, the committee left Vaccines for Children coverage for MMRV unchanged, producing mixed signals for coverage and administration.
  • A final decision on altering the hepatitis B birth‑dose schedule was postponed, and the panel is set to consider updated COVID‑19 vaccine guidance later today.
  • Major pediatric and public‑health groups criticized the meeting and warned of confusion and reduced uptake as the reconstituted HHS‑appointed panel revisits long‑standing vaccine policies.