Some experts argue that access to vaccines had not been restricted—and may have even been expanded for certain groups.
“All the red herrings thrown out today are going to raise doubts, and that will reduce vaccination delivery,” said John Grabenstein, former global executive director of medical affairs for vaccines at Merck and former senior scientist for the U.S. Department of Defense’s Military Vaccine Agency. “It just throws friction into the system, and every piece of friction reduces vaccinations.”
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, a medical doctor specializing in liver disease, warned last week that Americans should not follow the committee’s advice if it changed the hepatitis B recommendation. He made the comments after a HELP committee hearing in which ousted CDC Director Susan Monarez discussed her August firing. Monarez said she had been expected to approve all committee recommendations and that Kennedy had indicated changes to the children’s vaccine schedule.
Fiona Havers, a former CDC official who resigned earlier this year, said she believed the committee might revisit the hepatitis B recommendation. “This was a temporary setback for Kennedy’s agenda. There was no scientific basis to move forward with a vote to change the long-standing recommendations,” Havers said.
It remains unclear how the committee will proceed. The delay was attributed to inconsistencies in the proposed policies. The panel, reconstituted this year by Kennedy, includes several members who have previously raised concerns about routine vaccines or advocated against COVID-19 shots. Five of these members began their terms on Monday.
Members of the COVID vaccine working group raised potential safety issues that they believe require further study, including the persistence of the spike protein in tissue after vaccination. Vaccine makers addressed these concerns, and Pfizer, Moderna, and Sanofi (partnered with Novavax) defended the safety and effectiveness of their vaccines.
The CDC presented data showing that COVID-19 vaccination provided additional protection against emergency department visits in children and adults, as well as hospitalizations and severe illness in adults aged 65 and older. U.S. hospitalization rates from COVID remain highest among adults 65 and older and infants under six months.
“If you just look on the surface of today, despite the pain, it could have been much more damaging,” said Dr. Norman Baylor, former director of the FDA’s Office of Vaccines Research and Review, who has served as a liaison to the vaccine panel.
