ACIP panel leaves COVID-19 shots up to individual choice

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended people make individual decisions about whether to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. The decision by the committee, whose members were selected by Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr., could add confusion as people decide whether to get vaccinated this fall. A study published in JAMA Network Open found COVID-19 vaccination saves lives and averts 10% to 20% of disease burden. ACIP also recommended all pregnant women get tested for Hepatitis B. The group postponed an expected vote on hepatitis B shots given to infants the day they are born. They recommended children through age 3 receive a standalone chickenpox vaccine instead of a combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (chicken pox) vaccine. (AP article, 9/19/25)