Richard H. Hughes, IV, Member of the Firm in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, authored an article in MedPage Today, titled “Now Is Not the Time to Undo Adolescent Vaccination Policies.”
Following is an excerpt:
At a time when routine vaccination rates have yet to recover from a pandemic-era dip and vaccine confidence is more fragile than ever, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is considering rolling back certain vaccination recommendations.
Specifically, it is slated to consider elimination of the first doseopens in a new tab or window of the meningococcal vaccine at ages 11-12, based on cost effectiveness rationale and because disease rates have declined over the long term. This stands to widen vaccine inequities not only for meningococcal vaccines, but also for an integrated set of recommendations for pre-teen vaccinations that include pertussis and HPV.
This could have devastating consequences for adolescent health. Now, in the face of rising outbreaks of meningococcal and other diseases, we need to strengthen -- not weaken -- our commitment to adolescent vaccination policies.
