HHS Moves to Overhaul the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP): What this Means for Vaccine Access

Over the past several weeks, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has taken several concerning actions to change how vaccines are approved and recommended in the United States. At the core of HHS action is the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) – a small, but very important body that makes clinical recommendations for adult and pediatric vaccine access. ACIP recommendations inform not only best clinical practices, but they also set the standard for many critical federal and state policies that protect public health: public and private insurance coverage requirements, governmental public health vaccine program coverage, scope of practice for immunization providers, school immunization requirements, and occupational immunization requirements.

Eroding the scientific credibility of ACIP and/or rolling back vaccine recommendations could have a domino effect across the entire health care and public health system. Read this edition of Health Care in Motion to understand what HHS has done to change ACIP and how it could impact vaccine access moving forward.

Health Care in Motion.