Particle.news
Download on the App Store
42 ARTICLES
·
43m ago

CDC Vaccine Panel Backs Individual Decision-Making on COVID Shots, Rejects Prescription Requirement

Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill now reviews the advisory votes for final approval.

Image
A pharmacy advertises COVID -19 testing and a vaccine on Sept. 4, 2025 in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Protesters voicing support for the Centers for Disease Control rally outside the agency's Chamblee, Ga., campus on Friday during a meeting of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
© Andy Shell via Shutterstock

Overview

  • Advisers voted 12–0 to move COVID-19 guidance to shared clinical decision-making for everyone 6 months and older, emphasizing greatest benefit for people at higher risk of severe disease.
  • The proposal to recommend prescriptions for COVID-19 vaccines failed after a 6–6 split, with chair Martin Kulldorff casting the tie-breaking no vote.
  • The panel approved 11–1 an update to vaccine information statements to include at least six specified risks and uncertainties, and encouraged patient discussions with clinicians.
  • FDA limited this season’s updated boosters to adults 65+ and certain higher-risk younger people, and HHS and AHIP indicated coverage will continue even as access may differ by state and pharmacy policies.
  • The two-day meeting, marked by technical snags and sharp disputes within the reconstituted ACIP, also revised MMRV guidance and postponed a decision on the hepatitis B birth dose.