CDC official who oversaw COVID-19 vaccine recommendations has resigned following HHS rollback
Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos resigned on Friday.
'My career in public health and vaccinology started with a deep-seated desire to help the most vulnerable members of our population, and that is not something I am able to continue doing in this role,' she wrote in her resignation letter obtained by Channel 2 Action News.
Panagiotakopoulos co-led a part of the CDC's independent panel of vaccine advisers to review evidence for recommendations on COVID vaccines.
Last Week, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that COVID-19 vaccines will no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant women.
In mid-April, advisers had discussed the possibility of narrowing the recommendations for who should receive an annual COVID vaccine -- prioritizing those at higher risk, such as adults over 65 or those with an underlying condition, ABC News reported on Wednesday.
Last Thursday, the CDC updated its website. The agency said that shots may be given to children ages 6 months to 17 years who do not have moderate or severe problems with their immune systems.
Instead of recommending the shots, the CDC now says parents may decide to get their children vaccinated in consultation with a doctor.
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'The old COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for healthy children under 18 and for pregnant women have been removed from the CDC vaccine schedule,' an HHS spokesperson said in a statement. 'The CDC and HHS encourage individuals to talk with their healthcare provider about any personal medical decision.'
Childhood vaccination rates for COVID-19 are already low — just 13% of children and 23% of adults have received the 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccine, according to CDC data.
Talk of changing the recommendations has been brewing. As the COVID-19 pandemic has waned, experts have discussed the possibility of focusing vaccination efforts on people 65 and older — who are among those most as risk for death and hospitalization.
A CDC advisory panel is set to meet in this month to make recommendations about the fall shots. Among its options are suggesting shots for high-risk groups but still giving lower-risk people the choice to get vaccinated. A committee work group has endorsed the idea.
But Kennedy, a leading anti-vaccine advocate before becoming health secretary, decided not to wait for the scientific panel's review.
The new vaccine recommendation changes, their timing and the way there were announced have created confusion that can be 'incredibly harmful to the success of vaccination programs,' Schwartz said.
'It would be understandable if the public is completely baffled in terms of what the federal government thinks and what the science suggests ... about the evidence for the safety and value of these vaccines,' he added.
American Academy of Pediatrics President Dr. Susan Kressly said the organization is relieved that families wanting COVID-19 shots for their children will still be able to get them.
'However,' she added, 'the deeply flawed process to reach the recommendation raises serious concerns about the stability of the nation's immunization infrastructure and commitment by federal leaders to make sure families can access critical immunizations.'
The Associated Press and ABC News contributed to this article.
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