Shapiro administration turns to physician groups to protect vaccine guidance

HARRISBURG — Private health insurers will continue coverage for all vaccines approved in 2024 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine panel, moving away from the panel's current construct that's acting to change the recommended schedules, the Shapiro administration announced.

Citing a "confusing and chaotic" meeting last week of the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the Pennsylvania Department of Health on Monday issued new guidance that expands organizations that state residents and their health providers can follow for vaccine recommendations, citing recommended schedules from the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The guidance, according to a press release from the governor's office, is "clear" and "evidence-based," calling changes made by the CDC panel under the Trump administration "confusing."

In the release, it was announced that the state Insurance Department is "actively working" with insurance companies to avoid "additional financial barriers" to obtaining vaccines and "confirmed" continued coverage of the 2024 ACIP schedule.

"Vaccines save lives, protect families and prevent dangerous diseases from spreading throughout our communities," Shapiro said in the press release. "While the federal government sows confusion, here in Pennsylvania, we are providing clear, evidence-based guidance to ensure Pennsylvanians and their doctors have trusted sources of information. Health care decisions should be up to you and your doctor — and my administration will continue to protect Pennsylvanians' personal freedoms and parental rights."

Earlier this month, the Pennsylvania Board of Pharmacy voted to include the aforementioned medical societies plus the Food and Drug Administration as authorities toward authorizing vaccine guidance for Pennsylvania pharmacists.

ACIP met last week for the first time since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the entire panel and installed new members. The CDC's former director, Susan Minaret, was also fired last week amid the turnover.

According to The Associated Press, the panel changed its recommendation to advise that the MMRV vaccine — combined protection against chickenpox, measles, mumps and rubella — not be given before age 4. It now recommends that children under age 4 avoid the combined shot and receive separate vaccines for the diseases.

An expected vote on hepatitis B shots for infants was scrapped. The AP reports that the panel is now expected to vote this week on whether some babies can wait up to a month for the shots. The vote could include guidance on COVID-19 shots for infants, too.

Adults seeking COVID-19 shots were left in limbo when the FDA announced new restrictions on the vaccines that would limit coverage to people over age 65 or those with documented serious health issues. The action by Pennsylvania's Pharmacy Board allowed coverage to continue based on the expanded guidance.