Changes in CDC Guidance for COVID-19 Vaccine
An official of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) resigned from her role to update the agency’s COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, following an order by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to force an update of the agency’s instructions.
Resignation of Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotopoulos
Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotopoulos, one of the leads of the working group on COVID-19 vaccines within the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), sent an email to members of the working group to announce her resignation. She stated that her career in public health and vaccination began with the deep-seated wish to help the strongest endangered members of the population, and she could not continue in this role.
Update of Vaccine Recommendations
The process to update the influential vaccine recommendations of the CDC is closely observed by experts because they are bound to federal guidelines and programs, including liability protection, vaccines for non-insured children, and requirements for insurance coverage. The committee was ready to vote on updated recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines at a session later this month before Kennedy usurped the process to impose his own changes to the instructions.
Changes to the Instructions
Members of the working group had signaled earlier this year that they leaned towards restricting the instructions to soften the recommendation for children without underlying conditions to be vaccinated, according to the order of Kennedy that was ultimately implemented. Kennedy’s guideline also broke with the committee by ordering the agency to exclude pregnant women from the COVID-19 vaccine recommendations. Pregnant women were one of the groups that experts had worried had a higher risk of severe COVID-19 and guaranteed continued recommendations to be vaccinated.
Reaction to the Resignation
A federal health officer told CBS News that "more of us should withdraw in protest" in response to the news of Panagiotopoulos’ resignation from her role. The resignation has sparked concerns about the independence of the CDC and the influence of political pressure on public health decisions.
