CDC Panel Makes Recommendations On RSV, Meningitis, Chikungunya Vaccines

The AP (4/16, Stobbe) reports the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices on Wednesday “recommended an expansion of RSV vaccinations for adults and a new combination shot as another option to protect teens against meningitis.” The 15-member expert panel “also voted to recommend a shot to protect travelers from a mosquito-borne illness called chikungunya.” The panel “makes recommendations to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how regulator-cleared vaccines should be used.” Although CDC directors “almost always approve the recommendations,” acting CDC Director Susan Monarez is awaiting Senate confirmation and has “essentially recused herself from regular duties because of federal law around vacancies.” This means “any committee recommendations made Wednesday may move to U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.” Reuters (4/16, S K, Sunny) reports the panel “voted 14-to-0 to recommend that at-risk adults ages 50 to 59 receive a single dose of RSV vaccine,” with one member abstaining. The CDC “currently recommends the vaccine for adults age 75 and older and at-risk adults ages 60 to 74.” If the agency adopts the recommendation, “it would make about 30% of U.S. adults in that age group eligible for the RSV vaccine, according to panelist Michael Melgar.”