A key federal vaccine advisory panel has abandoned an attack on the covid-19 mRNA vaccines — a shift that comes as some Republicans warn that any more changes to vaccine policy could damage the party in the midterms.
Some of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s handpicked vaccine advisers had been seeking to potentially stop recommending mRNA shots. That plan is no longer moving forward, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations.
In recent months, some members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) have publicly questioned the safety and manufacturing of the shots, including raising a debunked theory that DNA contaminants in the vaccines were harmful.
One option under consideration was a potential vote to withdraw the federal recommendation for covid-19 mRNA vaccines altogether because of those objections, according to multiple people familiar with deliberations who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter. Such a change could throw into doubt how long insurers would continue to cover the shots for free and whether pharmacies would continue to carry them.
The advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are slated to meet next week after postponing a late February meeting. The panel makes recommendations on which vaccines Americans should receive and when. In September, they had narrowed earlier guidance recommending that everyone 6 months and older get a coronavirus shot to advising Americans instead consult a health-care provider on whether to get the shot.
Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech produce the two mRNA vaccines, which make up the vast majority of overall vaccinations for covid-19.
The Food and Drug Administration is charged with approving vaccines, and agency officials could interpret a move to no longer recommend a vaccine as seeking the removal of the shots from the market. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary opposed any such actions, according to an administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions. Earlier, the FDA had narrowed new approvals for updated covid shots to those who are considered high risk.
Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services, wrote in an email that there have been no changes to the current covid-19 vaccine recommendation issued in September. He said the vaccine panel and FDA have “consistently been aligned” in their approaches because both ensure “the decision to vaccinate is based upon individual patient characteristics.”
The Trump administration has been seeking to downplay its controversial vaccine actions and instead highlight food and nutrition initiatives ahead of November’s midterm elections. President Donald Trump’s chief pollster, Tony Fabrizio, has described skepticism toward vaccine requirements as “politically risky,” warning in a December memo that candidates who support eliminating long-standing requirements “will pay a price in the election.”
Six years ago, covid-19 was declared a global pandemic, and the public health emergency shaped daily life and claimed more than 1 million lives in the United States alone. The mRNA vaccines that played a central role in the response — and are credited with saving millions of lives — remain tangled in policy fights and face public skepticism, even as the virus itself poses less of an immediate threat.
Uptake of the updated covid shot has been paltry: About 17.5 percent of U.S. adults and about 9 percent of children have received this year’s covid shot, according to CDC data collected through late February.
The agenda for next week’s meeting of the vaccine advisers has not been released, and a federal judge in Boston could rule as soon as Wednesday on a request by medical groups to block changes to the childhood vaccine schedule and prevent the panel from convening.
Under Kennedy, the federal government has cut the number of shots routinely recommended to children. As the founder of a prominent anti-vaccine group, the secretary has been an outspoken critic of mRNA-based shots, once referring to coronavirus shots as the “the deadliest vaccine ever made.”
Earlier this week, influential leaders in the anti-vaccine movement met in Washington and decried what they view as the health toll of vaccination. Organized by the MAHA Institute, a think tank, speakers at the event alleged the coronavirus shot harmed people’s health, called to eliminate the childhood vaccine schedule and showed slides that said “vaccines are the greatest scam in medical history.”
Last year, Kennedy replaced every member of the influential vaccine advisory panel, selecting several members who had previously criticized mRNA vaccines.
The panel is slated to receive updates on covid-19 vaccine injuries and long covid as well as methodology the committee should use to make vaccine recommendations, according to a Federal Register Notice about the meeting.
The panel may vote next week on medical codes for people diagnosed with post-covid vaccine injuries and long covid, which would allow for providers to seek insurance reimbursement to treat those conditions, according to two people familiar with the plans. No additional details have been provided about these topics, but the committee is expected to also grapple with the health effects of the disease.
Harmful side effects from covid-19 mRNA shots have been a focusof some ACIP members. Public health experts say such injuries are rare, and the focus on such events distorts risks while minimizing benefits. Vaccines undergo rigorous safety testing before they are licensed by the FDA, and federal agencies rely on several vaccine safety reporting systems to monitor their safety while in use.
Myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart muscle, was identified early as a rare side effect of the mRNA shots, investigated extensively and incorporated into clinical guidance.
Public health authorities recognize long covid as a serious, prolonged set of health problems that can arise months after an initial covid-19 infection and affect virtually any organ system. The CDC defines long covid as a condition with a wide range of symptoms — from fatigue and brain fog to shortness of breath and musculoskeletal pain — that persist or emerge after acute illness, and emphasizes that it can be disabling and affect adults and children alike.
Covid vaccines are effective at protecting people from getting seriously ill, being hospitalized and dying. Public health experts say staying up to date on vaccinations remains one of the best ways to protect older adults and other vulnerable people. But surveys show many Americans are still hesitant — or simply not planning to get the shot.
Lauren Weber contributed to this report.
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