If you’re unsure about whether to get a vaccine or vaccinate your child, you’re not alone. But public health experts say confusion may grow in the weeks ahead as a newly formed vaccine advisory panel prepares to make more changes.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., appointed by President Donald Trump, has enacted several sweeping reforms since taking office, many of them centered on vaccines.
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Kennedy has removed 17 members of the influential Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and appointed 12 new members. The reconstituted panel, which includes several medical professionals skeptical of past vaccine policies, will meet publicly for the first time Thursday.
The committee’s recommendations to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention influence the federal government’s vaccine schedule — including what vaccines are covered by insurance, provided for free, or recommended by pediatricians. Although the CDC makes the final decisions, the panel’s advice often shapes medical guidance nationwide.
Dr. David Higgins told Scripps News he isn’t relying on the current committee for direction.
“The committee that’s formed right now is not a committee that I am looking to for vaccine recommendations,” Higgins said.
He added that Kennedy’s reforms have created division and frustration in the medical community, prompting some doctors to seek vaccine guidance elsewhere. The uncertainty, Higgins said, is also being felt by parents and caregivers.
“I empathize with a parent who says ‘I’m really confused,’” he said. “... So I encourage parents to first try to talk to their child’s pediatrician.”
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A recent KFF study published in The Washington Post found that about one in six parents have delayed or skipped at least one vaccine for their children.
Kennedy outlined his views before Congress earlier this month.
“I understand some medicines harm people, some of them have risks, some of them have benefits that outweigh those risks for certain populations, and the same is true with vaccines,” he testified.
One possible change under consideration could involve the timing of the Hepatitis B vaccine. For more than 30 years, the CDC has recommended that infants receive the first dose at birth.
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