Overview

• ACIP voted to move COVID-19 vaccination to an individual decision model, with HHS saying coverage remains available through VFC, CHIP, Medicaid, Medicare and Marketplace plans.
• The committee recommended universal hepatitis B testing in pregnancy and postponed a vote on whether to delay the newborn hepatitis B dose.
• Members approved delaying use of the combined MMRV shot until age four because of febrile seizure risk, with MMR and varicella still advised separately for younger children.
• HHS named five additional ACIP appointees at the meeting: Catherine M. Stein, Evelyn Griffin, Hilary Blackburn, Kirk Milhoan and Raymond Pollak.
• Observers, including AMA and AAP representatives, criticized the meetings as chaotic and raised concerns that debunked or unsupported vaccine-safety claims were aired.