Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are scheduled to meet on Sept. 18 and Sept. 19 to consider changes to recommendations for three vaccines.

A health care worker prepares a measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine in Lubbock, Texas, on March 1, 2025. Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on Thursday is slated to hear presentations on the measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine, as well as data on the hepatitis B vaccine, according to a draft agenda released by the panel.

The panel on Friday will focus on COVID-19 vaccines, after federal regulators narrowed clearance for those immunizations.

Advisers will vote near the end of each day on the three shots. The specifics on the votes have not been finalized, Martin Kulldorff, the chair of ACIP, told The Epoch Times in an email on Sept. 15.

Here’s what to know about the upcoming session.

MMRV Versus MMR

The MMRV vaccine targets four diseases. Children can receive the combination vaccine, or they can become immunized against the same four diseases by receiving the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and, separately, the vaccine against varicella, which is commonly known as chickenpox.

The CDC recommends children receive two doses against measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella. The agency says on its website that either option is fine.

It does recommend that the first dose be the MMR vaccine for children aged 12 to 47 months, since the MMRV vaccine “is associated with a higher risk for fever and febrile seizures.” A febrile seizure is a single seizure that lasts 15 minutes or less. It also states, “MMRV may be used if parents or caregivers express a preference.”

Kulldorff said during the panel’s last meeting that the effectiveness of the different options is about the same, but that data indicate the MMRV vaccine causes more febrile seizures in young children.

“A proposed recommendation ... could be, that as there exist[s] a safer, equally effective alternative, the MMRV vaccine should not be administered to children under the age of 47 months,” he said at the time.

The CDC, in a background paper in June, said that the primary concern for increased risk of fevers and febrile seizures is for children aged 12 to 23 months of age. It also said that the febrile seizures “resolve without long-term consequences,” although some data indicate that certain children may have an increased risk of problems such as epilepsy following a febrile seizure.

Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, told The Epoch Times that he believes it is important for ACIP to discuss the relative risk of febrile seizure versus children not getting vaccinated.

ACIP carries out discussion and analysis between meetings through workgroups, or groups comprised of some members and other experts. Benjamin said that it has been difficult to get a read on the upcoming meeting after officials removed representatives from outside organizations from the workgroups over the summer.

“I think everybody’s going to be listening very carefully about what’s presented, how it’s presented, and ... whether or not they follow the evidence,” he said.

Hepatitis B

ACIP will listen to presentations on how the hepatitis B vaccine is administered to many infants on their first day of life, as well as an update on the safety of the vaccine, according to the draft agenda. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the CDC’s parent agency, declined to provide copies of the presentations.

Hepatitis B is a liver disease that can lead to serious complications. Since the 1990s, the CDC has recommended a multi-dose vaccine starting shortly after birth. Two additional doses are recommended before a child turns 2.

The schedule was put into place due to “the difficulty of vaccinating high-risk adults” with the aim of eliminating transmission of hepatitis B in children, according to the CDC. After the recommendations were put into place, there was a decline in hepatitis B among young children. The rate of the disease has remained low among children and young adults.

“It’s been an extraordinarily and brilliantly successful program,” Dr. William Schaffner, a former ACIP member who is currently an alternate liaison to the panel for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, told The Epoch Times.

Some other experts, including the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, have questioned dosing children within hours of birth, noting that pregnant women can be tested for hepatitis B and that vaccine campaigns could target children born to women who were not tested, or who tested positive.

“Unless the mother is hepatitis B positive, an argument could be made to delay the vaccine for this infection, which is primarily spread by sexual activity and intravenous drug use,” Kulldorff said at ACIP’s last meeting.

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who recently resigned from the CDC, predicted recently that ACIP would try to change the recommendation for the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine.

COVID-19 Vaccines

CDC presenters on Friday are scheduled to tell panel members about updates to the epidemiology of COVID-19, the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines, and the economics of vaccination, according to the draft agenda. Retsef Levi, a member and the new chair of the ACIP workgroup on COVID-19 vaccines, will then go over the proposed recommendation. A vote is scheduled to follow.

Federal officials cleared COVID-19 vaccines on an emergency basis in late 2020 and recommended them to many Americans. That later developed into a system that mimicked the model for influenza vaccines, with an annual strain update to target circulating variants and advice that people receive an annual shot.

New leaders said that they did not support that system, in part because the clinical trials on which the repeated updates were based date back years. The CDC over the summer, under orders from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, stopped recommending COVID-19 vaccination for healthy children and pregnant women. In August, the FDA narrowed clearance to people aged 65 and older, and younger people who have at least one risk factor, such as obesity.

ACIP members could vote for recommendations that are more expansive than the FDA clearance, Benjamin said. They could also support recommending the vaccines for smaller populations than the clearance.

Levi previously called for removing two of the three COVID-19 vaccines from the market, while Dr. Robert Malone, another member, has said that data indicate the vaccines “are not effective or are at very low effectiveness and are contributing to negative effectiveness.” Several people named to the panel on Monday have also been critical of the vaccines.

ACIP typically offers recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines before the FDA acts, but did not do so this year.

In certain states, pharmacists cannot administer vaccines without ACIP recommendations. Some states changed their rules to make sure people have access to the vaccines. Some organizations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, have recommended vaccination for many younger people.

What Happens After the Votes?

ACIP is an advisory body. Its recommendations are sent to the CDC.

Earlier in 2025, when the CDC did not have a director in place, Kennedy signed off on ACIP recommendations.

Susan Monarez, who was confirmed in July as the CDC’s director, approved an ACIP recommendation several days later. President Donald Trump fired Monarez in August after officials said she was not aligned with the Trump administration’s agenda.

Monarez has said she was asked to preapprove ACIP’s recommendations, a charge Kennedy denied.

Following the ouster, Trump chose Deputy Health Secretary Jim O'Neill to serve as the CDC’s acting director.

O'Neill is authorized to approve recommendations from ACIP, a spokesperson for HHS told The Epoch Times in an email on Sept. 15.

Loading recommendations...