Merck's RSV shot for infants gets key approval despite RFK Jr.'s panel shakeup
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has previously made statements skeptical of vaccines, is now recommending the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for infants.
On Thursday, RFK's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted to recommend clesrovimab, a new RSV antibody shot made by Merck, for infants 8 months and younger who don't have protection from a maternal vaccine (a vaccine received in pregnancy).
A broader vaccine review is underway
The decision comes after the panel announced on Wednesday it would be reviewing the current childhood immunization schedule. The committee is set to vote on recommendations for the influenza vaccine, as well.
The RSV shot was approved for use in infants earlier this month by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 'ENFLONSIA provides an important new preventive option to help protect healthy and at-risk infants born during or entering their first RSV season with the same dose regardless of weight,' said Dr. Dean Y. Li, president, Merck Research Laboratories, said at the time.
Li continued, 'We are committed to ensuring availability of ENFLONSIA in the U.S. before the start of the upcoming RSV season to help reduce the significant burden of this widespread seasonal infection on families and health care systems.'
According to the CDC, RSV infects nearly everyone by age 2, causing cold symptoms, and sometimes, breathing struggles. In the U.S., around 300 infant deaths are caused by RSV each year.
The vote, which passed with five for the vaccine and two against, is the first decision from RFK's committee, made up of members whom RFK handpicked after dismissing the previous panel of 17 members in its entirety. The current panel includes some vaccine skeptics. Retsef Levi, an operations management professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Vicki Pebsworth, the research director of a group focused on preventing vaccine injuries and deaths, were the two members who voted against the shot.
Kennedy's history of vaccine misinformation
Trump's controversial pick for HHS Secretary has frequently made false claims on the topic of vaccines. In regard to COVID, Kennedy once falsely claimed that some race groups have natural immunity to the virus. 'COVID-19 attacks certain races disproportionately,' Kennedy said. 'COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese.'
RFK's critics feel that having a vaccine skeptic at the helm of the HHS is already cause for concern after the CDC began postponing meetings on national vaccine recommendations in February.
After the committee also announced that it would start a renewed review of all recommended pediatric vaccines, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) put out a video titled, 'AAP Steps up on Vaccine Recommendations,' which warned that immunization policy through ACIP is 'no longer a credible process' under RFK's leadership. The AAP added that it will continue to publish its own recommendations on vaccines for children.
Uncertainty at the CDC's helm
Thursday's recommendation from RFK's panel still has to be endorsed by the CDC. However, there is major confusion surrounding who is currently in charge of the organization, as it doesn't seem to have a clear leader. Kennedy, and others, have recently sidestepped questions about the matter.
Then, last week, RFK gave the name 'Matt Buzzelli,' who he described as 'a public health expert' when Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester pressed him on who the current acting director was. The CDC's leadership page has Matthew Buzzelli, a trial lawyer with no health-related experience, listed fourth as the agency's chief of staff. Following the exchange, the Senator sent RFK a letter, expressing grave concern.
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