With American Health Robert F. Kennedy, Secretary of Small Human Services.
Historically, the federal government has had a significant impact on vaccine policy through the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice (ACIP), which was established in 1964 to develop scientific-based recommendations on how to use vaccines. These recommendations are almost always adopted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in many states, these recommendations are related to insurance coverage. If ACIP no longer recommends certain vaccines, it may be forced to pay out-of-pocket expenses for long-term free life-saving vaccines.
Kennedy, a long-time anti-vaccine activist, announced in May that the CDC would no longer recommend 19 shots for healthy children and pregnant women. In June, he fired all 17 current members of ACIP and installed eight new members, some of whom were critical of the vaccine. “It is necessary to clean up the sweep to rebuild public confidence in vaccine science,” Kennedy said in an agency statement.
At the first meeting of the new committee at the end of June, members voted to recommend a ban on the use of preservatives from flu vaccines. The move is largely symbolic, as thimerosal has not had any conventional childhood vaccine since 2001. Although it proved to be safe, it was removed due to public opposition, but was removed due to public opposition. Now, mercury sulfide is only used in some multi-dose vials of influenza vaccines, which represent a small portion of all influenza vaccines given in the United States. HHS passed ACIP recommendations in July.
Some state lawmakers expect more changes to federal vaccine recommendations. “There are challenges here, there are laws requiring compliance with ACIP recommendations,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, whose center established a vaccine integrity program in April to respond to Kennedy’s vaccine agenda.
Colorado, a predominantly democratic country, passed legislation at the last legislative session to protect vaccination even if federal guidelines change. The bill directs the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to consider vaccine recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical organizations. Previously, the department only considered ACIP’s recommendations.
“We really want to make sure we make science-based decisions in Colorado,” said Lindsay Gilchrist, the Democrat on the bill.
The recently passed Colorado bill recently passed a federal policy change that protects preventive health insurance. It gives state insurance agencies the authority to restore preventive health care guidelines from federal agencies, including from ACIP, that exists in January 2025.
Maine recently removed references to ACIP in the law to empower its state health departments to determine which lenses should be obtained through the universal vaccination program. In New York, state Senator Andrew Gounardes introduced new legislation in June that would provide health insurance for COVID-19 vaccines. The Massachusetts bill filed in July by Democratic Gov. Maura Healey will allow the state’s public health specialist to determine routine childhood immunity without simply considering ACIP recommendations.
