More than 130 medical, public health and patient advocacy organizations are raising concerns about recent changes to the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, warning the updates could affect vaccine access and public confidence.
The concerns follow an April 1 renewal of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices charter, which expanded the panel’s focus on vaccine risks and adverse events and broadened member eligibility beyond traditional vaccine expertise, including areas such as toxicology and recovery from vaccine injuries.
In a joint statement released April 15, groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Public Health Association said the changes could shift the panel’s focus toward vaccine risks and away from its traditional emphasis on benefits and prevention.
“Taken together, these revisions will alter the focus of ACIP, potentially jeopardizing access to life-saving vaccines,” the organizations said, adding the changes could allow “an unqualified committee to promote misleading narratives about vaccine safety.”
They added the revisions could “undermine confidence in vaccines” and affect access tied to programs serving millions of patients.
Separately, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America said the revised charter risks undermining the panel’s long-standing role in delivering evidence-based recommendations by elevating safety concerns without equal emphasis on benefits and disease prevention, according to an April 17 statement.
The American Academy of Pediatrics also warned the changes could “further erode vaccine confidence and access,” particularly as ACIP recommendations influence coverage decisions across federal programs.
Pharmacy organizations, including the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the American Pharmacists Association, added the changes place “a disproportionate emphasis on vaccine risks and harms” and could weaken scientific rigor and disrupt vaccine access, particularly given pharmacists’ role in immunization delivery, according to an April 17 statement.
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