A panel of experts, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which advises the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on vaccine policy, will not meet as initially scheduled next week. The postponement comes as the first gathering since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. assumed the role of Health and Human Services Secretary.
The meeting, originally set to occur in Atlanta from February 26 to 28, was officially postponed, as confirmed by Andrew Nixon, Director of Communications at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The ACIP meetings website also reflected this change. However, Nixon did not provide a new date for the meeting. The advisory group typically convenes three times a year, in February, June, and October.
During his confirmation process, Kennedy expressed criticism towards ACIP, which is now subject to a review as per an executive order issued by President Donald Trump. This review is part of a broader evaluation of federal advisory committees. Kennedy has also committed to investigating the childhood vaccine schedule that aims to prevent diseases such as measles and polio.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices plays a crucial role in advising the CDC director on the use of FDA-approved vaccines. This includes recommendations on which groups should receive specific vaccines and the timing of these vaccinations. Although ACIP's decisions are not mandatory, they are generally followed by agency directors.
ACIP members include academics, a chief medical officer from a community health center, a state public health official, and a family medicine practice owner. One anonymous committee member indicated they learned about the meeting's postponement through news reports.
The agenda for the now-postponed meeting, which remained accessible online as of Thursday afternoon, included discussions on several vaccines. These were a new meningitis vaccine, a vaccine for the mosquito-borne illness chikungunya, and vaccines for RSV and influenza.
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