Tag: CDC advisory committee

CDC ACIP Meeting Today on Covid-19 Vaccine

We watched the Covid-19 vaccine part of today’s meeting this morning. I thought it got off to sort of a rough start, mainly with technical difficulties. I can’t recall any other meetings in which the camera flipped back and forth oddly between speakers and their slides. I thought that was distracting.

The question-and-answer periods ran too long which put them behind schedule. One member of the original 8 committee members, Dr. Michael Ross, was missing from the CDC roster. There were news articles about his withdrawing after a review of financial holdings.

While most of the Covid-19 presentation was review, I thought it was too bad that ACIP Chair Dr. Martin Kulldorff announced there would be no vote on the Covid-19 vaccine today. He also said that the ACIP committee would look forward to the missing Evidence to Recommendations (EtR) material in the fall. Dr. Adam MacNeil, the presenter of the Covid-19 vaccine review, admitted that the EtR was not finished. I was not clear on why.

I didn’t really see the point of Dr. Kulldorff’s giving a rather long speech about why he was fired from Harvard after he refused to get the Covid-19 vaccine. I would much rather have heard him give details about his emphasis on the importance of conducting controlled trials (I think he meant placebo-controlled?) and posing this as a question to Dr. MacNeil. I think this is what led to Dr. MacNeil’s response which implied that they would take too long to produce actionable results (I might be putting words in his mouth but that’s my interpretation)—which could lead to saving more lives. It looked like a rather awkward moment.

Dr. MacNeil reviewed the FDA approval of using a JN.1 lineage vaccine at the VRBPAC meeting in May and also mentioned the FDA leadership preference for the LP.8.1 variant. I noticed the CDC variant genomic tracker today shows that the new kid on the block, NB.1.8.1, is now just as prevalent or more prevalent as LP.8.1. They’re both from the JN.1 lineage.

Some of the questions from the newly appointed committee members were over my head. But in all fairness, one of the members asked a question which not only I didn’t get but that Dr. MacNeil said he didn’t quite understand either.

So far, we’re planning to watch the influenza vaccine presentation tomorrow morning. I’m not sure why there’s a vote on thimerosal in the flu vaccine tomorrow but there was no vote on the Covid-19 vaccine today.

CDC Advisory Committee Meeting on Vaccines Starts Tomorrow

The CDC ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON IMMUNIZATION PRACTICES (ACIP) is scheduled to begin their meeting tomorrow at 10:00 AM ET despite US Senator Bill Cassidy’s recommendation that it be postponed due to concerns about the lack of experience of the committee members and because there is not yet confirmation of a new CDC Director.

In fact, the CDC Director nominee, Dr. Susan Monarez, of Wisconsin, is scheduled for her confirmation hearing at the same time as the start of the CDC ACIP meeting tomorrow morning at 10:00 AM ET. Dr. Monarez would be the first CDC director “…in decades…” (according to a report posted in The Hill in May) who has neither previously worked at the CDC “…nor obtained a Doctor of Medicine degree…”

As of this morning around 10:00 AM, the meeting agenda has not yet been finalized. So far, it looks like there will be no vote on the Covid-19 vaccine update, although there will be a vote on Thimerosal in flu vaccines about which the FDA has previously published an extensive summary.  

CDC ACIP Meeting on the RSV Vaccine and Some Dad Jokes

We watched the section of the CDC ACIP meeting about RSV vaccines on February 29, 2024. There was a lot of discussion on the safety of the vaccine. It looks like it will still have a requirement that you have a shared clinical decision-making meeting with your physician. I think that still implies you’d need a prescription. However, there are only a handful of states which would require a prescription from your doctor. Iowa is one of them.

That made the comment by one of the committee participants thought provoking. I believe she got the RSV vaccine from a pharmacist, who asked no questions. There was no shared clinical decision-making discussion with that pharmacist.

But there was a discussion during the meeting with a pharmacist who was in the room. She made it clear that pharmacists had plenty of training (“20 hours” along with additional learning) and could handle the shared clinical decision-making piece with patients.

Sena and I have had all of our vaccines including the Covid-19 shots administered by pharmacy techs. I hardly know what the pharmacists look like because they are a blur, managing the drive-up window and all other customers. It’s clear that a large proportion of vaccines are available at most pharmacies and the techs give the shots. They are pleasant and happy to apply the Band-Aid.

You can’t even telephone the pharmacy and talk to a live person. Sometimes you’ll get a recording which replies to most of your questions with “Sorry, I didn’t get that. Did you say you want a vaccine or a cheeseburger with fries?” Scheduling vaccine appointments are generally done on line. Scheduling a visit with the pharmacist is probably not easier than scheduling one with your doctor, who might confuse you with “the colonoscopy” in room 5.

I’ve looked at the health care professional section on the CDC website pertaining to the age and medical conditions necessary to qualify for getting the RSV vaccine. I’m pretty sure I’m in the right age category, although I stopped keeping track after the evolution of asparagus. I don’t have any chronic medical conditions, unless you count dad jokes. I exercise, juggle, take only a multivitamin a day, meditate, and regularly leap tall buildings in a single bound. I’m pretty sure I don’t need the RSV vaccine, but what do I know? I’m a retired psychiatrist.

It looks like the risk of getting Guillain-Barre Syndrome (pronounced “GBS”) is not zero and may or may not be associated with the RSV vaccine. It’s pretty clear that 2 of the 3 major manufacturers of the vaccine who attended the meeting were pretty sensitive to any hints their product might have anything to do with GBS and might challenge you to a no holds barred thumb wrestling match if you say otherwise.

We think there’s a long way to go before everybody’s clear on who gets the RSV vaccine and when, and also where. But you can’t get it at the pharmacy drive up window.

Public Notice of Gratitude to FDA & CDC Advisory Committees

I have watched a few YouTube presentations by the CDC and FDA Advisory Committees in the last few weeks. I’m very impressed with the professionalism, sincerity, civility, and dedication of the members of both organizations. The most recent FDA meeting on the extension of the EUA for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 5-11 was a great example of the best of the best. It’s a tough job. I appreciate them. They also have a pretty good sense of humor, especially when they forget to unmute their microphones.