The vaccine advisory panel for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) voted Thursday in favor of delaying the administration of the vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (chickenpox), commonly called the MMRV.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is scheduled to vote on three questions during Thursday’s meeting. Five of the members were appointed to the committee just this week.
First, the panel was asked to consider whether the MMRV vaccine should not be recommended for children younger than 4. The panel voted 8-3 to approve the change, with one member abstaining.
This vote would have meant that children who receive their vaccinations through the Vaccines For Children federal program will not be able to receive the MMRV shot until they’re 4 years old. The committee voted, however, in a follow-up motion against aligning the VFC with the recommendation, changing nothing in terms of what the program covers for the time being.
Children can normally get the MMRV vaccine beginning at 12 months of age.
ACIP members Hillary Blackburn, Cody Meissner and Joseph Hibbeln were the three members to vote no on the recommendation.
The panel decided to delay the votes on hepatitis B vaccine guidance until Friday, when they will also vote on COVID-19 vaccine guidance.
The meeting Thursday was tense, with panel members very aware of the heightened attention on their vote following the firing and resignation of top CDC officials and the growing scrutiny of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Capitol Hill.
“We are currently experiencing heated controversies about vaccines. And a key question is, who can you trust? Here’s my advice, when there are different scientific views, only trust scientists who are willing to engage with and publicly debate the scientists with other views,” ACIP Chair Martin Kulldorff said at the start of the meeting.
Hellbound and Down 