In a chaotic meeting, ACIP voted not to recommend a prescription requirement for Covid-19 vaccines. Some panelists seemed unaware of the point of the meeting, while others went on strange tangents.
On the second day of a pivotal vaccine meeting that was at times heated, confusing, and chaotic, a group of federal advisers chosen by Health and Human Services secretary and longtime anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voted against requiring a prescription to receive a Covid-19 vaccination.
The vote took place after hours of discussion, in which several advisers sowed doubts about the Covid-19 vaccines and went on tangents about their safety and efficacy -- both of which have been well-established.
The group, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, was tasked with considering whether state and local jurisdictions should require a prescription for the administration of a Covid vaccine. ACIP has historically provided expert advice to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine usage. The current committee is made of 12 members installed by Kennedy after he dismissed all 17 previous sitting members in June. Several members have expressed anti-vaccine views, and five of them were appointed just this week.
Some of the new ACIP members were seemingly unaware that recommendations made by the committee are tied to insurance coverage, and that in many states, they determine what immunizations a pharmacy is allowed to administer.
After hearing from a workgroup member and liaisons from professional medical and pharmacy groups on how a yes vote would overwhelm doctors' offices with prescription requests and restrict access to Covid vaccines, the committee voted 6-6 on whether to require a prescription. Since it was a tie, the decision went to the ACIP chair, Martin Kulldorff, who voted no.
"I'm really concerned about the requirement of a prescription, because I believe the segment of the population that is underinsured, has lack of access to healthcare, they're going to be unable to get a prescription, and those are the people that are at highest risk for a lot of these these," said ACIP member Catherine Stein, an epidemiologist at Case Western University, who was previously critical of the US response to Covid-19 but voted "no" on the issue.
Access to Covid-19 vaccines is already muddled after the Food and Drug Administration's recent move to limit eligibility for the latest version of the shots. In August, the agency approved updated Covid vaccines but only for people 65 and older, or those who are younger with underlying health problems that makes them at risk for severe disease complications. Previously, Covid vaccines were approved for anyone 6 months or older.
But the recent FDA changes mean that in some states, pharmacies are currently not offering the jab. Other states, meanwhile, are taking steps to preserve access -- during the panel's meeting, for example, Michigan's chief medical executive issued a standing recommendation stating that anyone who has not received a seasonal and FDA-approved Covid-19 vaccine is considered to have an underlying condition making them eligible for one.
On Friday, the committee also voted on a vague proposal to recommend that Covid vaccination be based on "individual-based decision-making" for those ages 6 months and older. Ostensibly, it would mean that people wanting to get a vaccine would first need to have a conversation with a healthcare provider about the risks and benefits of vaccination.