Overview

• Secretary Kennedy disbanded the 17-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and appointed new members criticized for lacking infectious disease expertise and opposing COVID-19 vaccines.
• The CDC revised its pediatric COVID-19 schedule to a shared clinical decision-making model, and the FDA limited new COVID-19 vaccine approvals to adults aged 65 or those with risk factors.
• An HHS document sent to Congress defended removing COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women, citing studies that experts say are disputed, unpublished or misrepresented.
• Medical organizations including the AMA and the American Academy of Pediatrics have raised alarms that narrowing federal guidance could erode no-cost coverage requirements, potentially reducing uptake and increasing out-of-pocket costs.
• Public health officials point to a surge in measles and whooping cough cases during rising vaccine hesitancy as evidence of the risks of deviating from evidence-based immunization policies.