WHO DECIDES WHAT IMMUNIZATIONS WE NEED?
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is a group of doctors, nurses, and public health professionals who advise the nation on immunizations. The 15 voting members include family doctors, pediatricians, infectious disease doctors, nurses, and public health professionals, many who also teach in medical schools across the country. One voting member represents the public.
Thirty non-voting members from groups like the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, and 8 non-voting members from government medical organizations also participate in the meetings. All members, both voting and non-voting, review the available information and make science-based recommendations for who should get which immunizations and when. The CDC then sets the immunization schedule based on ACIP’s recommendations.
The February 2019 ACIP meeting in progress (above). The inner table is voting members, the outer table is non-voting, advisory members.
ACIP members consider the severity of the disease and how it spreads as well as the safety and effectiveness of immunizations and when making recommendations. ACIP work groups meet regularly to stay up to date on the latest information. The whole group meets several times a year to vote on recommendations. Meetings are open to the public and available online.
People on the committee who study vaccines cannot vote on recommendations related to the vaccine they are studying. People with certain kinds of conflicts of interest are not allowed to serve on ACIP at all. For example, people who are directly employed or have an immediate family member directly employed by a vaccine manufacturer, hold a patent on a vaccine or related product, or serve on a Board of Directors of a vaccine manufacturer cannot become ACIP members.