US Vaccine Committee Withdraws Recommendation for Covid-19 Vaccine in Adults

Mon Sep 29 2025 07:35:10 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

In a surprising move, the US Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has voted to discontinue its broad recommendations for adults to receive the Covid-19 vaccine, raising concerns within the medical community.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in the US has voted to stop endorsing the Covid-19 vaccine for adults, a significant shift from the previous stance recommending annual vaccination for the majority of the population. This decision comes amid controversial changes in the committee's composition and its handling of other vaccine recommendations, including those for measles, mumps, rubella, and hepatitis B. Detractors, including health experts and advocates for vaccinations, express concern over the potential implications of this new policy.

A key US vaccine advisory committee has voted to stop recommending all adults get the Covid-19 vaccine, which has until now been officially approved for most Americans annually since the pandemic.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (Acip) also narrowly voted against advocating prescriptions for the Covid vaccine. In two days of meetings, Acip changed its recommendations on the combined measles, mumps, rubella, varicella (MMRV) vaccine, and delayed plans for a vote on the hepatitis B vaccine.

Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a vaccine sceptic, fired all 17 members of the committee in June and handpicked their successors, sparking uproar in the medical community.

The panel spent Friday debating the Covid-19 vaccine, which has for the past several years been a routine recommendation, like the yearly flu jab.

Acip voted to abandon broad support for recommending the jab, including for high-risk populations like people aged over 65. Instead, it decided patients could make their own decisions after consulting with a medical professional.

In May, the federal government stopped recommending Covid-19 vaccines for healthy pregnant women and children. In one exchange on Friday, Kennedy's ally Dr Robert Malone argued there was no evidence that the Covid vaccine prevented serious infection, while Dr Cody Meissner claimed there is statistically significant data indicating the vaccine protects against infection.

Confusion also arose during discussions over the MMRV vaccine. Following a Thursday vote against recommending the combined MMRV shot for children aged four and under, the panel on Friday endorsed two separate jabs for measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella.

The American Medical Association criticized the new MMRV recommendations, stating they leave parents confused about vaccination decisions.

Additionally, the panel delayed a vote on whether newborns whose mothers tested negative for hepatitis B during pregnancy should automatically receive a vaccine for the virus. Despite scientific backing for the vaccine's safety and efficacy, the panel's new chairman Dr Martin Kulldorff expressed skepticism about administering the hepatitis B vaccine to newborns.

Kennedy's approach to vaccinations has sparked considerable scrutiny since he took office in January, having replaced critical members of the vaccine advisory panel and dismissed its chief, leading to resignations among senior staff in protest. Critics are concerned that this new direction could have detrimental effects on public health.