RFK Jr’s vaccine panel drops plan for vote on newborn hepatitis B shots | Robert F Kennedy Jr
A revised panel of American vaccination advisers appointed by the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, decided on Friday not to go ahead with a planned vote which would have delayed the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine for newborns, citing the inconsistency of the proposed policy changes.
It was not clear how the committee would continue on the issue in the future.
The group, which advises centers for Disease Control and Prevention on American vaccination calendars, discussed Thursday to modify the recommendation of more than three decades in the country that babies receive the shooting at birth, which led to a spectacular decrease in sickness rates.
While many members of the committee seemed to support the change during this discussion, medical experts and patient defenders warned during the public commentary period that this would leave infants vulnerable to diseases.
On Friday, some members of the Committee raised new concerns about some of the data presented by the CDC and wanted to extend the recommendations from one month to two to three months. During Thursday’s discussion, it was not clear how the one -month criterion had been chosen.
Dr Catherine third, epidemiologist of infectious diseases at Uthealth Houston, said that American-dose-dose policy has led to a 97% drop in acute hepatitis B among Americans under 19.
Sign Consider changes in the vaccine recommendations cochus
The panel, however, voted unanimously to recommend universal hepatitis B tests for all pregnant women. The meeting will also later examine the updates of COVVI-19 vaccine guidelines.
The votes came while the Consultative Committee for Vaccination Practices (ACIP) was sentenced to a second day of meetings which highlighted deep divisions on the future of American vaccination calendars under Kennedy, which has long promoted complaints concerning vaccine damage contrary to scientific evidence.
On Thursday, the panel rejected the use of the elbows to measles combined in children under the age of four.
A member of the Committee explains the calculation of the profit against the risk
CDC experts presenting in Reunion have defended the long-standing policy to give a hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth, noting that 12% to 16% of pregnant women in the United States do not have a hepatitis B test.
Pediatrician Dr Cody Meissner, a member of a panel, warned that the delay in the birth dose could “increase the risk of damage according to any proof of service”. He added that even if no vaccine is completely without risk or completely effective, clinicians must weigh the advantages compared to potential side effects.
“For the hepatitis B vaccine of the newborn, there is no doubt that the protective advantages prevail from far the possible risks,” said Meissner.
The AIPI, reconstituted this year by Kennedy, includes several members who previously raised concerns concerning routine vaccines. Kennedy has also directed broader policy changes: reducing the COVVI-19 routine shots for children and pregnant women and interrupting nearly $ 500 million in mRNA projects. Five of the members began their mandate on Monday.
