Health officials worried about the CDC changing vaccine recommendations
Health officials worry over vaccine recommendations
Public health officials across the country are worried about a possible change in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine recommendations.
DALLAS - Public health officials across the country are worried about a possible change in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine recommendations.
Health insurance providers could stop covering the cost of immunizations if that happens, and the change could lower vaccination rates and access.
Vaccine Recommendations
What's new:
On Thursday, the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel met to discuss childhood vaccine schedules and recommendations.
The biggest focus is on the Hepatitis B vaccine and whether newborns should receive it right away, something that’s been recommended since 1991.
The vote was postponed until Friday because of confusion over the wording.
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Local perspective:
Earlier this week, a group of big city public health officials expressed their concerns about potential changes. Dallas County Health and Human Services Director Dr. Philip Huang was among them.
He cited a recent state report that states kindergarten vaccination rates in Dallas County dropped from about 94% to 89% over the past year.
"And that really gets us below that herd immunity level that protects everyone. And that’s what puts us vulnerable for these sort of outbreaks," he said.
When it comes to the Hepatitis B vaccine, Dr. Huang said newborn immunizations have been very successful in reducing chronic cases by about 94%.
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What they're saying:
Dr. Huang said he’s concerned about political influence when it comes to vaccine recommendations.
"There’s a lot of just, you know, loss of credibility even at the CDC, sort of undermining of the reviews for vaccines and recommendations. So, it causes confusion in our population, and that can lead to lower vaccination rates," he said.
He believes public health should be based on science and nothing else.
"It’s become very politicized, you know, when they fire all of the scientific and medical experts that make the recommendations and then just put people in who have particular political perspectives. And that’s really again undermining the whole process," he said.
The Source: The information in this story comes from Thursday's CDC vaccine advisory panel meeting and an interview with Dallas County Health Director Dr. Philip Huang.