The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet this week after five new members were added.
On Monday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appointed the members to the newly remade board after firing all 17 members of the panel earlier this year. The ACIP provides the federal government with guidance on vaccines. Members often weigh in before the cold and flu season to recommend updates to annual flu and COVID-19 shots.
The new members are: Dr. Catherine M. Stein, professor in the department of Population & Quantitative Health Sciences at Case Western Reserve University; Dr. Evelyn Griffin, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Baton Rouge General Hospital; Hillary Blackburn, director of Medication Access and Affordability at AscensionRx; Dr. Kirk Milhoan, medical director of For Hearts and Souls Free Medical Clinic; and Dr. Raymond Pollak, a semi-retired surgeon and transplant immunobiologist.
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Some members of the remade panel have previously expressed skepticism about certain vaccines, including for COVID-19. In 2022, Griffin testified to Louisiana lawmakers against including COVID-19 shots on the state’s childhood vaccination schedule.
Stein wrote in support of eliminating COVID-19 vaccine mandates at universities, claiming in 2022 that they were not scientifically justified.
"Scientific studies, reports by health agencies, and other public data have generally shown that vaccination does not prevent infection, thereby not preventing transmission," she wrote.
The ACIP now faces key decisions on several vaccines, including this year’s COVID-19 booster. Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration limited approval of COVID-19 vaccines to people 65 and older and to others with preexisting health conditions. Pharmacies in some states stopped offering the shots to all adults following the FDA’s announcement.
The committee is also set to vote on guidance involving MMR and hepatitis B vaccines. They will meet on Thursday and Friday.
