Months after the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel removed national healthcare organizations from internal operations, the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists has withdrawn from the committee.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which has reviewed and developed vaccine recommendations to the CDC since 1964, transformed in June after HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 standing members. Since then, Mr. Kennedy has appointed about a dozen new committee members, many of whom have a history of anti-vaccine rhetoric.
The CDC has adopted several recommendations from the newly formed ACIP, including ending universal vaccinations for COVID-19 and hepatitis B. In the fall, the CDC removed several national healthcare organizations from ACIP’s working groups, which help the committee form vaccine recommendations.
ACOG, which represents more than 62,000 healthcare professionals, has worked with the ACIP and its workgroups for decades, according to a Feb. 24 news release. The organization said it is withdrawing as a liaison organization because of “recent changes that undermine the committee’s scientific integrity and evidence-based approach to vaccine policy.”
ACOG’s president, Steven Fleischman, MD, said the decision to withdraw “is not a withdrawal from our commitment to advancing vaccine science or to protecting patients’ health and safety; rather, it reflects an unwavering dedication to ensuring that clinical recommendations for immunizations are based solely on the best available scientific evidence. ACOG remains committed to developing and endorsing evidence-based vaccine recommendations related to obstetric and gynecologic healthcare.”
Two other updates:
1. An ACIP meeting originally scheduled for Feb. 25-27 has been postponed until March 18-19, according to its website. It is unknown what the meeting’s agenda will be, as the ACIP usually publishes its agenda a few days before it convenes.
2. On Feb. 24, 15 states filed a lawsuit against HHS and the CDC, alleging Mr. Kennedy unlawfully overhauled ACIP. The lawsuit cites the lack of a required Federal Register notice and allegedly violating the Federal Advisory Committee Act’s requirement that committee members are “fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented and the functions to be performed.”
“This is a publicity stunt dressed up as a lawsuit,” an HHS spokesperson said. “By law, the health secretary has clear authority to make determinations on the CDC immunization schedule and the composition of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.”
The lawsuit also aims to overturn the HHS’ Jan. 5 decision to alter the CDC’s childhood immunization schedule, reducing routine vaccine recommendations from 18 to 11 diseases.
