With autumn approaching in the Northern Hemisphere, the US is preparing to roll out updated flu and Covid vaccines for the coming respiratory-virus season.
But the federal advisory committee that would normally review the evidence and recommend how those vaccines should be used cannot meet.
Since March, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) — the independent panel that develops national vaccine recommendations — has been unable to deliberate or vote.
The paralysis began when US District Judge Brian Murphy halted the appointments of 13 committee members following a lawsuit brought by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups against Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Murphy concluded that suspending Kennedy’s reconstituted committee would cause minimal harm because the government could continue relying on existing vaccine schedules “for a short period.”
That was more than five months ago.