The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Thursday voted to adopt a new recommendation for the child immunization schedule. On Friday, the panel delayed a vote on the Hepatitis B vaccine.
ACIP voted 8-3, with one member abstaining, that the combination vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV), not be given to children before the age of 4. Instead, children should through the age of three should receive separate vaccines: one against measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) and another for varicella, otherwise known as chickenpox.
Current policy recommends that children receive the MMRV vaccination between 12–15 months for the first dose and 4–6 years for the second dose. Both the first and second dose can be administered at other ages provided the minimum age and the interval between doses are respected. For children aged 12 months through 12 years, two vaccination options are available: either MMR and a varicella vaccine administered as two separate injections or a combination MMRV vaccine administered as one injection.
Although the panel voted on Thursday that the Vaccines for Children program could cover the combination shot if parents wanted it, ACIP members reversed that decision on Friday, according to CNN.
The new recommendatiosn do not become part of the CDC immunization schedule until it is formally approved by the CDC director.
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In an announcement about the Thursday vote, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said the ACIP’s new recommendation ensures all children receive immunizations for measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox from 12 months of age. HHS said it will examine all insurance coverage implications following a final decision on adoption by Acting Director Jim O'Neill.
Committee delays vote on Hepatitis B shot for infants
On Friday morning, the committee also delayed a vote on giving Hepatitis B vaccines for infants, according to the CNN report.
Currently. babies receive the vaccine shortly after birth. The panel debated on Thursday the merits of waiting to give the dose to babies until they are at least one month old. The committee originally delayed the vote to Friday and then this morning decided 11-1 to table the vote.
Later today, the panel is expected to vote on recommendations as to who should be eligible for the latest COVID-19 vaccines.