The decision of the Committee of them to review the recommendation of vaccination of children under 4 is creating a real chaos.
“Chaos and confusion”. These words were described by the New York Times the climate that prevailed at the US Vaccination Practices meeting on MMRV vaccine for children under four years of age.
And indeed, the way in which its composition was called upon to manage the sensitive issue of vaccine coverage for specific federal illnesses highlights concerns about the influence of anti -vaccination Minister Robert Kennedy Junior.
Exceptions and contradictions
A simple time quotation of the events is sufficient to demonstrate the confusion.
On Thursday, the first day of the meeting, the members of the Commission decided to revoke the recommendation for this particular vaccination scheme that covers four diseases that require childhood immunization (measles-parrotitis-hubbub-annemox, and there are two MMRVs) mumps and the anti -chickenpox vaccine.
During the same session, however, it was decided to maintain the cost of the cost of the aforementioned quadruple vaccine from the resources of the Federal Program “Vaccines for Children” (the approval of which vaccines will be included in the program is a key responsibility of the Commission).
On Friday, the second day of the meeting, the same committee abolished the aforementioned funding, while also declaring “unprepared” to judge the hepatitis B vaccine, which has been formally done in all newborns for many years.
It is an image of chaos, based on the late skepticism expressed by some members about the purpose and utility of the program, which.
The lack of coordination and communication is largely explained by the fact that about half of the committee were appointed by Kennedy himself earlier this week.
“Many of the members needed explanations for the usual protocol of these meetings, the design of scientific studies and critical defects in the data they proposed to be included,” the New York Times reports.
It is worth noting that at the same time, the recommendation of vaccination against him was confined to the ages of 65 and above, overturning the previous one who was urged to vaccinate over 6 months, but without clarification for pregnant women.
Criticism and consequences
“I believe that the primary objective of this meeting was fulfilled and he was to sow distrust and instill fear for parents and families,” said Son O ‘Lir of the American Academy of Pediatrics, in front of journalists, commenting on the results of the meeting.
Many experts have warned that the change in the administration of the MMRV vaccine and possible changes to the hepatitis vaccine will complicate access to them, while stressing that they are not based on scientific data.
But the “fires” do not stop in the field of the medical community, as the Minister of Health is also being criticized by Republican politicians, such as Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidi, a doctor in the profession and head of the Health, Education, Education and Pensions Committee.
“If the Commission withdraws the recommendation for vaccination of neonates against hepatitis B, I will urge American citizens not to follow the directive,” he specifically said, reflecting the skepticism in the ruling party’s ranks on long -term results.
As a recent public opinion survey confirms, child vaccination is perhaps the only field in which high acceptance is recorded along the entire political spectrum, at a time characterized by intense polarization. In this context, the warning of the former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Susan Monkrez that the Minister of Health himself is jeopardizing public health, seems to be the most anxious and piercing cry.
