The vaccine limbo in the US is worsening the measles outbreak
Summary
Former vaccine advisers say the lack of a functioning federal vaccine advisory committee is limiting the U.S. response to a worsening measles outbreak. Existing CDC guidance allows some children in outbreak areas to receive MMR doses earlier, but advisers say those options could be better publicized and reviewed.Key Facts
- The article reports three measles-associated deaths announced in the previous week, including a seven-month-old in New York and a postpartum woman in Pennsylvania.
- The seven-month-old who died in New York was not vaccinated against measles, officials said.
- Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaced the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) advisers with people he selected.
- A federal judge halted the committee’s work, ruling that the Trump administration had not properly constituted it.
- The CDC is accepting nominations for a new advisory committee, but appointing members and changing recommendations can take months or years.
- CDC guidance allows babies at risk during an outbreak to receive their first measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine dose at six months instead of one year.
- During an outbreak, children can receive their second MMR dose at least four weeks after the first; the usual timing is between ages four and six.
- Former advisers say a functioning committee could review adult vaccination, childhood dose timing, and which groups or areas need vaccination campaigns.
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