Washington, September 20 (HS): A senior US vaccine advisory committee has voted to withdraw its recommendation that all adults receive the Covid-19 vaccine, marking a dramatic policy reversal that has alarmed much of the medical community.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), restructured earlier this year by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, opted instead to leave the decision to individuals in consultation with their doctors, even for high-risk groups such as seniors over 65. The panel also voted narrowly against prescribing the jab proactively, sidelining what had been a routine inoculation policy since the pandemic.
The change follows Kennedy’s ousting of all 17 prior ACIP members in June and his appointment of new, hand-picked advisers. Critics say the move has eroded independence and undermined long-standing vaccination policies. The American Medical Association and other experts have warned that abandoning recommendations could sow confusion and weaken public health protections.
Kennedy, a long-time vaccine sceptic, has also questioned the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns and overseen contradictory rulings on the MMRV (measles, mumps, rubella, varicella) vaccine. On Thursday, ACIP rejected the combined MMRV shot for young children, later endorsing separate jabs instead — a decision that left doctors charging the policy shift has left parents puzzled.
While doctors like Dr Cody Meissner of the FDA’s former vaccine panel reaffirmed strong evidence that Covid shots reduce the severity of infection, Kennedy allies, including Dr Robert Malone, told ACIP there was no proof the vaccines prevent serious illness.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had long recommended Covid vaccines alongside annual flu shots. But Kennedy’s reforms at the agency — including the firing of CDC deputy chief Susan Monarez for refusing to endorse policy changes “regardless of evidence” — have led to sharp internal resignations and growing unease among scientists.
Since the arrival of nationwide immunisation in the 1990s, vaccines like hepatitis B have cut infections dramatically among young Americans. Experts now fear the panel’s new posture risks reversing decades of progress and leaving the US exposed to renewed outbreaks.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
