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3w ago

CDC Vaccine Panel Urges Against MMRV for Children Under 4

Final adoption rests with the acting CDC director following a contentious overhaul of the panel.

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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 to advise against using the combined MMRV shot before age 4, with one abstention by Dr. Robert Malone.
  • Members cited a small, long‑recognized increase in febrile seizures after the first MMRV dose in toddlers, while noting no such signal in older children and continued recommendations for MMR and varicella vaccination.
  • The recommendation is not yet in effect, as Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill must decide whether to adopt it, and HHS said it will review insurance coverage implications.
  • In a separate action, the panel voted to keep MMRV eligible under the federal Vaccines for Children program from 12 months of age, raising the prospect of a coverage–guidance mismatch for some payers.
  • Implementation could vary as California moves to set its own immunization schedules and AHIP says its members will maintain coverage for vaccines under CDC recommendations in place on Sept. 1 through 2026.