Covid vaccines are again slated for discussion by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory panel.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is scheduled to meet next month to address Covid vaccine injuries and potentially vote on new recommendations, according to a Federal Register notice for the upcoming meeting released on Wednesday.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed all current members of the panel after dismissing all previous members last year. Many of Kennedy’s selections are known to be vaccine skeptics.
Numerous scientific studies have affirmed the safety and effectiveness of the Covid vaccinations.
“Certain committee members have repeatedly claimed Covid vaccine harms without verifiable data, or by misrepresenting established scientific literature,” stated Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. Last year, Osterholm initiated the Vaccine Integrity Project, which aims to offer an alternative source of vaccine information to the CDC.
He emphasized, “If the committee intends to revisit vaccine safety questions, it has an obligation to do so transparently and rigorously.” He added, “Given past misstatements, members do not deserve the benefit of the doubt.”
Under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership, health officials have moved to reduce access to Covid vaccines and adopted a stricter stance on mRNA technology, which is fundamental to Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. Kennedy has famously labeled the Covid vaccine as “the most lethal vaccine ever produced.”
In October, the CDC updated its Covid vaccine guidance, recommending the shots for adults 65 and older only after consulting a doctor or pharmacist. Previously, the shots were recommended for all individuals aged 6 months and older.
In November, Dr. Vinay Prasad, who heads vaccine efforts at the Food and Drug Administration, informed staff via memo that an internal investigation concluded at least 10 children perished “following and due to receiving” the Covid vaccine. These findings have not been made public or peer-reviewed by the agency.
The FDA initially denied Moderna’s request to evaluate an mRNA-based flu vaccine earlier this month, but subsequently reversed its decision.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ spokesperson did not provide a comment when requested.
Dorit Reiss, an authority on vaccine policy at the University of California Law San Francisco, noted that the panel usually doesn’t prioritize vaccine injuries.
“The committee’s official responsibilities do not directly include vaccine injuries,” Reiss stated via email. “While developing vaccine recommendations, they are expected to account for vaccine risks, and emerging risks could prompt revised recommendations; however, this isn’t specifically about vaccine injuries.”
Nevertheless, the panel does evaluate risks: for instance, in 2021, the CDC gathered the advisory panel to review new reports of myocarditis, a rare side effect, observed in adolescent boys and young adult males following an mRNA Covid vaccination. The panel subsequently considered if the first and second doses of the vaccine should be administered with a longer interval for younger individuals.
Reiss predicted two potential actions from the panel: either further restricting its Covid vaccine recommendations or requesting modifications to the vaccine’s labeling to emphasize risks, although label alterations are usually the FDA’s responsibility.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists declared on Tuesday its resignation as an ACIP liaison group. The organization cited worries about “recent modifications that compromise the committee’s scientific credibility and its reliance on evidence for vaccine policy.”
As per the Federal Register announcement, beyond Covid vaccine injuries, the panel’s agenda for next month’s meeting also includes long Covid and “ACIP recommendation methodology.”