IDSA and others say anti-vax groups and political figures greater would have greater role over ACIP under the vaccines panel’s new charter
New governing rules for the CDC’s vaccines committee could undermine the panel’s authority and make it vulnerable to politics, says a statement by a group of medical organizations, led by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).
“The new charter of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) changes the fundamental focus, membership structure and governance of the committee,” the statement said. “This will lead to confusion and delays that threaten public access to lifesaving vaccines and evidence-based, accurate information.”
Vaccine access could also be delayed as a result, the statement said.
“In this new charter, governance of the committee would be the responsibility of the CDC director instead of members with deep expertise on immunization, which would intensify politicization of the ACIP,” the statement said. “The new charter inappropriately emphasizes potential gaps or limitations in vaccine data, which could be used to delay, rescind or refuse to make evidence-based vaccine recommendations. Neither does the new charter commit to a schedule of meetings, which contradicts the past practice of having regularly scheduled meetings open to the public. It also noticeably softens requirements regarding the publication of vaccine recommendations and their use for informing insurance coverage. Transparency in vaccine decision-making is essential to restoring public trust in health care.”
The website MedPage Today reported on the new charter and the medical societies’ statement.
Dropping the three-meeting requirement for ACIP will make meetings less predictable, give the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the CDC more discretion over timing, which could affect the pace of vaccine guidance, said Dorit Reiss, PhD, a law professor at the University of California–San Francisco in the MedPage story.
The charter also adds “four problematic organizations with anti-vaccine leanings” to the medical society liaison representatives, who are allowed to weigh in on discussions before committee votes during public ACIP meetings, according to MedPage.
"[T]hese changes suggest HHS is reshaping ACIP's structure, membership environment, and operating framework while reducing the charter's explicit acknowledgement of the legal consequences that make ACIP so important,” said Dorit.
Also signing on to the statement were the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists.
This story was compiled from a report by MedPage Today and the IDSA’s statement.