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A CDC advisory panel voted Friday to shift COVID vaccine guidance toward “individual decision-making,” a policy the agency refers to as “shared clinical decision-making.”
The approach involves physicians, nurses and pharmacists and keeps shots covered under major payment programs, including Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP and private insurance. The recommendation encourages patients to talk with their doctors about whether to get an updated shot instead of recommending it for everyone six months and older.
The panel voted 11 to 1 to strengthen informed consent by adding language to vaccine information sheets that highlights “risks and uncertainties.”
The CDC said the risk-benefit of vaccination in people under 65 is most favorable for those at increased risk for severe COVID-19 and lowest for those who are not at increased risk, based on its list of COVID-19 risk factors.
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Members also backed language urging providers to discuss COVID vaccinations in light of a patient’s prior infections, immunosuppression and other conditions.
“We really encourage the CDC … to find the right language to communicate these risks and uncertainties to patients and medical providers so we can actually have the appropriate informed consent and discussion of risk and benefits that are realistic to the current knowledge and the current gaps in knowledge that we currently face,” said Dr. Retsef Levi of MIT Sloan.
But the most controversial proposal, to require a prescription for the COVID shot, failed after a 6–6 split vote, with ACIP Chair Martin Kulldorff breaking the tie by voting no.
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“I’m strongly opposed to a requirement for the prescription,” said Dr. Cody Meissner of Dartmouth. “Requiring a prescription is going to become a big barrier to administration of this vaccine. If a person wants it for himself or herself or her children, they should be able to get it without a prescription.”
Levi pressed for the opposite approach.
“We feel that these vaccines should now be prescribed as a prescription,” he said. “Since we are not talking about an emergency situation, we think it’s appropriate to bring it to something that is being discussed between a physician or medical provider and a patient.”
Others warned that restricting access would undermine trust.
“Science supports the COVID-19 vaccine works,” said Dr. Henry Bernstein of the Zucker School of Medicine. “It is incredibly safe and effective. But the vaccine also must be easily accessible for everyone who wants it. The need for a provider prescription creates an incredibly unnecessary step to receiving a vaccine and does not effectively target those at high risk.”
The panel also voted 12-0 to update the pediatric and adult immunization schedule to reflect “individualized decision-making” for FDA-approved COVID vaccines.
The decisions mark a sharp break from previous CDC guidance, which had broadly recommended updated COVID shots for all Americans 6 months and older.
“I commend the committee for bringing overdue scientific debate on vaccination to the American people,” said Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services and CDC acting Director Jim O’Neill.
The CDC referred Fox News Digital to a Sept. 19 CDC press release.
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