US vaccine panel drops opposition to mRNA COVID vaccines, signaling policy shift and renewed debate over safety, efficacy and future immunization guidance
A key U.S. federal vaccine advisory panel has reportedly dropped its push against COVID mRNA vaccines, according to the Washington Post. This development comes after some vaccine advisers under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had sought to potentially stop recommending mRNA shots, a plan that is now reportedly no longer moving forward.
The committee has not reconsidered its September 2025 decision to classify COVID vaccines under shared clinical decision-making on the CDC immunization schedules. This statement was made by HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon in response to the Washington Post report.
Advisers to the CDC are scheduled to meet next week. They are expected to make recommendations regarding which vaccines Americans should receive and when.
Under the leadership of Kennedy Jr., who is described as a longtime anti-vaccine activist, the HHS decided in August of last year to wind down mRNA vaccine development activities. This decision was made within its biomedical research unit.
Kennedy Jr. had stated that the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu. This assertion was made despite scientific evidence to the contrary.
The mRNA vaccines, produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, function differently than traditional vaccines. They do not contain weakened or inactivated viruses. Instead, these vaccines provide cells with instructions to create a protein component of the virus. This process prompts the body to build immunity.
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that a key U.S. federal vaccine advisory panel has dropped a push against COVID mRNA vaccines. This information was cited from two people familiar with the matter.
Some vaccine advisers under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had been seeking to potentially stop recommending mRNA shots. However, that plan is no longer moving forward, according to the report.
A panel of vaccine advisers in September last year scrapped a broad recommendation for COVID shots. They stated that COVID-19 shots should be administered only through shared decision-making with a healthcare provider.
"The committee has not reconsidered its September 2025 decision to classify COVID vaccines under shared clinical decision-making on the CDC immunization schedules," said HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon in response to the Washington Post report.
The advisers to the CDC are slated to meet next week and are expected to make recommendations on which vaccines Americans should receive and when.
Under the leadership of Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine activist, the HHS decided in August last year to wind down mRNA vaccine development activities under its biomedical research unit.
He had said "the data show these vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID and flu," despite scientific evidence to the contrary.
These vaccines, produced by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, do not contain weakened or inactivated viruses, and instead give cells instructions to make a protein component of the virus, prompting the body to build immunity.