Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s overhauled vaccine panel voted on Thursday to no longer recommend a combination shot protecting against chickenpox, measles, mumps and rubella for young children.
In an 8-3 vote, with one member abstaining, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) decided against recommending the MMRV vaccine for children under the age of 4.
The panel, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on which vaccines to recommend to the American public, said children younger than 4 should instead be immunized for varicella (the virus that causes chickenpox) separately from a combined shot for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR).
Concerns over the rare risk of fever-induced seizures related to MMRV vaccines were brought up by some members of the panel.
Committee member Dr. Cody Meissner, who voted to continue recommending the MMRV vaccine for young children, described so-called “febrile seizures” as “a very frightening experience” for parents during the ACIP meeting.
Hellbound and Down 