Kennedy's vaccine advisory panel weighing birth-dose hepatitis B and MMRV amid safety concerns

ATLANTA — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine advisory committee is convening for a two-day session focused on vaccines against COVID-19, hepatitis B and chickenpox. On Thursday afternoon, members are expected to vote on proposals related to hepatitis B and a combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine (MMRV), though officials from the Department of Health and Human Services have not disclosed exactly which measures will be considered.

The meeting is also expected to probe whether to roll back — at least partly — the longstanding recommendation that all U.S. children receive a first dose of hepatitis B vaccine at birth. The panel’s chair, Martin Kulldorff, has signaled openness to revisiting that policy. In a June presentation, he raised questions about the timing of MMRV and discussed rare feverish seizures associated with the first dose in some children, though the panel has not finalized any changes to age guidance for MMRV.

Dr. Mysheika Roberts, health department director in Columbus, Ohio, who was scheduled to join Kennedy’s panel but was dismissed by Kennedy, said the birth-dose policy has helped reduce liver-disease risk among children and questioned why it would be changed after such progress. “If it's not broken, why change it?” she said.

On the MMRV issue, Kulldorff has raised the possibility of not giving the combination shot to children younger than 4, citing rare fever-related seizures after the first dose in some 1- and 2-year-olds. The advisory committee last addressed the issue in 2009, when it said either the combination shot or separate MMR and varicella shots were acceptable for the first dose. Today, most pediatricians administer separate vaccines for the first dose and reserve MMRV for the second dose, experts say.

Some doctors and public health experts say they are not aware of any new safety data that would explain revisiting those vaccination recommendations. They worry the panel is raising questions in the minds of parents and could hinder families' efforts to protect children.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which reviews vaccine usage and makes recommendations to the CDC director, has historically had its guidance widely followed by doctors and public health programs. Kennedy, who before taking office was a leading antivaccine activist, fired the 17-member previous panel earlier this year and replaced it with a group that includes several skeptical voices. On Monday, the administration announced the addition of five more people, some of whom are noted skeptics of COVID-19 vaccinations or pandemic prevention measures.

Public health groups have voiced alarm about Kennedy and his new panel. In May, Kennedy announced he was removing COVID-19 shots from the CDC's recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women, a move that drew lawsuits from the American Academy of Pediatrics and other groups. The panel is scheduled to finalize COVID-19 vaccine recommendations on Friday. States have begun taking steps to maintain vaccine access, with several enacting policies to allow vaccination at pharmacies without individual prescriptions; Wisconsin joined a growing list when Gov. Tony Evers signed an executive order directing state health officials to follow guidance from national physician organizations.