US vaccine panel to vote on the use of combined measles shot this week

18/9/2025 16:42

U.S. vaccine advisers will vote this week on a proposal to drop recommendations for using the combined measles shot for children, putting a topic of concern to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. high on the public health agenda.



Kennedy, who has a long history of sowing doubt over the safety of vaccines, contrary to scientific evidence, has widely promoted the idea that vaccines combining shots against measles, mumps and rubella, as well as varicella (MMRV), are linked to autism.



Repeated scientific studies have disproved both assertions.



The panel, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), will vote on a proposal that the combined MMRV vaccine given before age 4 years is not recommended at its meeting scheduled for September 18-19, according to a draft agenda on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website on Wednesday.



The meeting comes after Kennedy abruptly fired all 17 ACIP members in June and named eight new advisers, including several who had advocated against vaccines.