Unprecedented Changes by a Little-Known Committee That Controls Our Vaccine Access

This week, a little-known federal committee is meeting to make decisions that could fundamentally change our access to lifesaving vaccines. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has protected American health for decades under both Republican and Democratic administrations, but recent changes made by Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and endorsed by President Trump threaten common sense approaches families and pediatricians have relied on for decades 

What Is ACIP and Why Should You Care? 

While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) determines whether vaccines are safe and effective, ACIP determines who should receive them and when. Since 1964, this nonpartisan committee housed under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has used scientific evidence and research — not political ideology — to make recommendations that ensure access to vaccines that keep us all safe. Federal laws almost all payers, including Medicaid, Medicare, private insurance and employer sponsored  insurance plans to cover ACIP recommended vaccines at no cost to consumers. This means every vaccine ACIP endorses becomes free for millions of Americans receiving health care through these programs. If ACIP changes course and a vaccine is suddenly no longer required to be covered by health insurance programs, Americans could be forced to pay out of pocket for these lifesaving medications, which will mean millions of children and families go unvaccinated because they can’t afford it. 

An Unprecedented Purge 

In June, Secretary Kennedy made an unprecedented move: he removed the entire ACIP panel and replaced them with vaccine skeptics who have long histories of pushing baseless propaganda rather than protecting public health. The consequences are already emerging. 

The Hepatitis B Birth Dose Under Threat 

This week, the reconstructed committee is reviewing whether to delay the hepatitis B vaccine from being given at birth, potentially waiting as late as ages 10-14. There is no new scientific evidence prompting this review, no new efficacy problems have been reported, and no known benefit to delaying the first dose. Yet they’re moving forward anyway. 

The stakes couldn’t be higher.  

The birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine has: 

• Reduced acute hepatitis B infections in children under 19 by 99% 

• Prevented an estimated 500,000 childhood infections 

• Prevented over 90,000 hepatitis B-related childhood deaths 

Disease experts predict that delaying this vaccine could result in 78,000 new acute infections and 21,000 new chronic cases and 5,200 preventable deaths through 2050 . 

Why the Birth Dose Matters 

Chronic hepatitis B is not curable and is about 100 times more infectious than HIV and can survive on surfaces for up to 7 days. While we have antiviral drugs to treat the infection, children who contract the virus are at greater risk of developing chronic disease as the timing of the initial infection is one of the main determinants of disease progression. Infants and young children who become infected are significantly more likely to develop chronic hepatitis B: up to 90% of infected infants progress compared to only 5-10% of adults. This makes early protection essential. 

Vaccination at birth serves as a crucial safety net for several reasons. About half the people with hepatitis B show no symptoms and don’t know they are infected, and since the virus spreads through bodily fluids, mothers can unknowingly transmit it during delivery. Even when a mother tests negative, newborns remain vulnerable to household transmission from infected family members and visitors who may be unaware of their status. Despite best intention, these exposures can still occur. 

Early vaccination is the only reliable way to prevent transmission. That’s precisely why, since 1991, ACIP has recommended giving the first dose at birth.  

The Real Cost of Ideology Over Science 

Parents generally want nothing more than to keep their children safe and healthy. Yet anti-vaccination propaganda – including from Secretary Kennedy’s new ACIP appointees — deliberately weaponizes that protective instinct through fearmongering designed to destroy trust in proven medical care. Rather than lowering health care costs or improving public health, this administration is attacking safe, well-studied vaccines while claiming to defend parental choice. In reality, their policies do the opposite, creating confusion that paralyzes decision-making and erecting financial barriers that will strip many families of the choice to protect their children. 

The financial consequences will devastate families. Estimates show that treating a single chronic hepatitis B infection cost over $1600 a year. If the disease progresses to require a liver transplant, that figure skyrockets to $182,000. The administration’s policy changes also trigger immediate fiscal harm to our health care system. Millions of low-income children receive vaccines at no cost through the Vaccines for Children Program (VFC), guided by ACIP recommendations that determine coverage at state and federal levels. This proposed change will force already-strained state Medicaid budgets to cover the cost of the Hepatitis B vaccines. Analysis by Families USA of Medicaid vaccine administration data and current vaccine costs  shows that states could face at least $110 million in additional hepatitis B vaccine costs in 2026 alone. This adds crushing financial pressure to state budgets at the exact same time that Medicaid financing was slashed by Congress and President Trump via H.R. 1. 

Yet as devastating as they are, these numbers don’t capture the full toll: individuals and families dealing with hepatitis B face years of lost productivity, mounting medical appointments, and precious childhood years consumed by managing a preventable disease. We can’t fully calculate the extent of the human and economic toll, but if we use the most effective tools we have – vaccines and prevention – then we won’t have to. 

What Happens Next 

The committee will meet today and tomorrow to discuss and vote on whether to eliminate the birth dose recommendation for hepatitis B. Following their vote, either the HHS Secretary or the acting CDC Director must approve or reject the committee’s recommendation. Any changes to the vaccination schedule are then published through the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). 

And regardless of the outcome of this one vote, if ACIP continues to undermine science in favor of ideological attacks, it is clear is that our health, our children’s health, and our wallets are on the line. 

Call your member of Congress today. Tell them science, not ideology, should guide vaccine policy.