United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is reportedly leaning towards reversing the recommendation of the COVID-19 vaccine for children.
The directive under consideration would remove the coronavirus vaccine from the childhood vaccine schedule. This is maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is commonly used by physicians to guide vaccine distribution.
COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendation
The removal of the COVID-19 vaccine from the recommended list marks Kennedy Jr.'s most significant move so far in shaking up the country's vaccination practices. The HHS secretary is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who previously questioned the necessity of kids getting the coronavirus shot.
He also raised doubts about the vaccine's safety and cited various studies that show healthy children are at extremely low risk of death from the health crisis. The removal of the shot from the CDC schedule will not prevent kids from getting vaccinated.
However, it would represent an unusual intervention by Kennedy Jr. in overriding the agency's scientific decision-making and reversing a recommendation that was backed by the CDC and several independent advisers only three years ago, according to Politico.
Furthermore, the potential reversal could influence vaccination procedures across the United States. Pediatricians typically rely on the CDC schedule to determine which vaccines they should give to kids and when they should administer them.
Insurers also closely watch the CDC schedule in deciding which vaccines to cover and states and localities use it to determine which shots should be required by schools. However, no states currently require students to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
The situation comes after vaccine advisers to the CDC met publicly to discuss the country's vaccine policies. The meeting of the agency's advisory committee on immunization practices was originally scheduled for February earlier this year, NPR reported.
Robert Kennedy Jr.'s Stance
Claire Hannan, the executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers, said it is important to have an ongoing review of data and science. She also cited the importance of looking at the evidence that goes into the vaccine schedule in an open forum.
Amid Kennedy Jr.'s continued "misinformation and lies," Dr. Peter Marks, who served as the Federal Drug Administration's (FDA) top vaccine official, has resigned. During Donald Trump's first term as president, Marks was lauded for his role in Operation Warp Speed.
In his resignation letter, Marks said that it has become clear that truth and transparency are not things that the HHS secretary wants. He argued that Kennedy Jr. wishes subservient confirmation of his "misinformation and lies," as per The Guardian.
