Category: Health

(WASHINGTON) — Several major medical organizations filed a lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday over what they are calling “unlawful, unilateral vaccine changes.”

The six groups — including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American College of Physicians (ACP) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) — as well as a pregnant woman filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

The organizations, representing pediatricians, infectious disease physicians and public health professionals, accused the HHS and Kennedy of intentionally taking away vaccines, such as the COVID-19 vaccine, and unjustly replacing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) entire vaccine advisory panel.

The lawsuit seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions to enjoin Kennedy’s new COVID vaccine recommendations and a declaratory judgment pronouncing the change as unlawful.

Kennedy “has been on a warpath. It’s gotten to the point that we are going to … ask the court to put a stop to it,” Richard H. Hughes IV, a partner at Epstein Becker Green and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, told ABC News. “This decision to unilaterally overturn the COVID recommendation based on a history of bias — it was an arbitrary, capricious decision. They didn’t make any effort to follow any ordinary processes.”

Hughes said the HHS violated the Administrative Procedure Act, a U.S. federal law that establishes procedures federal agencies must follow when making rules.

In response to a request for comment, an HHS spokesperson told ABC News, “The Secretary stands by his CDC reforms.”

In late May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it was planning to limit access to future COVID vaccines to those aged 65 and older and others with underlying health conditions.

Additionally, the agency said it would allow vaccine manufacturers to conduct large studies to assess the safety and efficacy of COVID vaccines in children and younger, healthy adults.

At the time, an HHS spokesperson told ABC News, “The COVID-19 public health emergency has officially ended, and we are entering a new phase in our response to the virus. A rubber-stamping approach to approving COVID boosters in perpetuity without updated clinical trial data under the Biden administration is now over.”

About a week later, Kennedy cut COVD-19 vaccine recommendations for “healthy children and pregnant women” without a vote from the committee and posted the announcement on X rather than through official federal channels, in a break with tradition and stunning doctors.

In the video posted X, Kennedy claimed there was no clinical data to support the repeat booster strategy for children.

The anonymous pregnant woman, who is also a plaintiff, has been unable to receive a COVID-19 vaccine since Kennedy made the announcement, the suit states. The woman is a physician in a hospital, which could place her at high risk for exposure to infectious diseases, according to the lawsuit.

“Secretary Kennedy’s changes to vaccine recommendations have frustrated our members’ ability to effectively counsel patients regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and compromised the standard of care,” Dr. Sindhu K. Srinivas, president of the SMFM, said in a statement.

The statement went on, “Every second the Secretary’s dangerous and unsupported decisions regarding the COVID-19 vaccines stay in effect, the Directive is putting up barriers for our members’ high-risk pregnant patients to access the COVID-19 vaccine, which is increasing the risk of serious infection and illness and eroding patient trust in all recommended vaccinations.”

The plaintiffs also expressed alarm over Kennedy’s move last month to remove all 17 members from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and appoint seven new members. Kennedy originally appointed eight members, but one of them dropped off the panel shortly after.

At the time, the HHS put out a press release justifying the removals, with Kennedy saying. “A clean sweep is necessary to reestablish public confidence in vaccine science.”

Kennedy previously told ABC News that the replacements for ACIP would not be “anti-vaxxers.” However, some of the new members have previously espoused anti-vaccine sentiments, especially around COVID-19 vaccines and mRNA technology.

During the first ACIP meeting featuring the new members, the chair, Martin Kulldorff, said two new work groups would be established, one focusing on the cumulative effects of children and adolescents receiving all recommended vaccines on the schedule and another reviewing vaccines that haven’t been examined for more than seven years.

The latter group may discuss whether the hepatitis B vaccine is necessary at birth before a baby leaves the hospital, according to Kulldorff. Infectious disease experts have said vaccinating babies at birth has been key to virtually eliminating the virus among children.

“The American Academy of Pediatrics is alarmed by recent decisions by HHS to alter the routine childhood immunization schedule,” Dr. Susan J. Kressly, president of the AAP, said in a statement. “These decisions are founded in fear and not evidence and will make our children and communities more vulnerable to infectious diseases like measles, whooping cough and influenza. Our immunization system has long been a cornerstone of U.S. public health, but actions by the current administration are jeopardizing its success.”

ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Emergency rooms across the country are seeing a spike in tick bite cases, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

July has already seen the highest number of tick-related ER visits since 2017, with the Northeast region reporting the most cases, the CDC said.

Young children and elderly adults appear particularly vulnerable, with those under 10 and over 70 years old having the highest rates of emergency room visits, according to the CDC.

For residents in the New York tristate area, the threat is particularly severe. The Fordham Tick Index, which monitors tick activity in southern New York, Connecticut and Northern New Jersey, currently rates the bite risk as “very high” – 9 out of 10 on its scale.

The CDC reports that climate change may be contributing to the increasing numbers. In regions where Lyme disease is already present, milder winters result in fewer disease-carrying ticks dying during cold months, the agency notes.

According to CDC data, May typically marks the annual peak for tick-bite emergencies. These rising numbers have prompted health officials to remind the public about the dangers posed by these tiny insects.

The CDC warns that ticks can transmit various diseases through their bites, many of which share similar symptoms. Most people who visit emergency rooms report fever and chills, headaches, fatigue and muscle aches. Some patients also develop distinctive rashes, particularly those associated with Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

With outdoor activities in full swing this summer, the CDC has issued several recommendations to prevent illness. The agency advises avoiding wooded and brushy areas with high grass and leaf litter, and staying in the center of trails when hiking. It also recommends using Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellents containing DEET, Picaridin, or other approved ingredients.

The CDC recommends treating outdoor clothing and gear with permethrin, which remains effective even after multiple washes. Those planning to use both sunscreen and insect repellent should apply sunscreen first, followed by the repellent.

Health officials are also emphasizing that no area is immune to tick activity.

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(NEW YORK) — Wyoming is reporting its first measles case in 15 years as the infectious disease continues to spread across the United States.

The state’s Department of Health said on Tuesday that it had confirmed a case in an unvaccinated child in Natrona County, which is located in the central part of the state and includes the town of Casper.

The pediatric case is the first reported in Wyoming since 2010, according to the WDH.

It’s unclear how the child became sick, and no other identifying details were provided including name, age or sex.

A release from the WDH said the child was infectious while in the emergency department waiting room at Banner Wyoming Medical Center in Casper on Thursday, June 24, from 11 a.m. MT to 1 p.m. MT and on Friday, June 25, from 12:55 p.m. MT to 2:55 p.m. MT.

The WDH said it is working with Banner Wyoming Medical Center to notify individuals who may have been exposed to measles during those times.

“We are asking individuals who were potentially exposed to self-monitor for measles symptoms for 21 days past the exposure date and consider avoiding crowded public places or high-risk settings such as daycare centers,” Dr. Alexia Harrist, state health officer with the WDH, said in the release.

Wyoming is the 37th state to confirm a case of measles this year as infections near a 30-year high in the U.S.

As of Wednesday morning, a total of 1,227 cases have been confirmed, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The U.S. is currently on track to surpass the 1,274 cases seen in 2019 and is expected to see the highest number of cases since 1992.

There have been three confirmed deaths so far this year, two among unvaccinated children in Texas and one among an unvaccinated adult in New Mexico.

Among the nationally confirmed cases, the CDC says 95% are among people who are unvaccinated or whose vaccination status is unknown.

Meanwhile, 2% of cases are among those who have received one dose of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine and 3% of cases are among those who received the recommended two doses, according to the CDC.

“Measles is one of the most contagious diseases we know, but it is preventable,” Harrist said in the release. “The MMR vaccine is safe and highly effective, providing long-lasting protection. Two doses of MMR vaccine are about 97% effective in preventing measles, and we recommend that all Wyoming residents ensure they and their children are up to date on MMR vaccinations.”

As of 2023, the latest year for which data is available, at least 93% of kindergartners in Wyoming had received at least one MMR dose, including 96% of kindergartners in Natrona County, where the new case was confirmed, according to the WDH.

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(WASHINGTON) — The State Department is taking over programs previously run by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in a move officials say will restructure U.S. foreign assistance and reorient it toward national interests, as a new study finds the cuts could contribute to millions of deaths by 2030.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in a post on Substack on Tuesday that USAID — which oversaw foreign aid, disaster relief and international development programs — would no longer be providing assistance to other countries.

“As of July 1st, USAID will officially cease to implement foreign assistance,” Rubio wrote. “Foreign assistance programs that align with administration policies — and which advance American interests — will be administered by the State Department, where they will be delivered with more accountability, strategy, and efficiency.”

A senior official at the State Department, who briefed reporters on Tuesday, said the “U.S. foreign assistance policy” would aim to be “linked up diplomatically” with the foreign policy agenda of the Trump administration and U.S. partners.

“Once we get through this transition and the programs are over here, I think the next few months are going to help indicate where we think our vision of the future is,” the official said. “We do not foresee a gap operationally.”

The foreign aid agency was among the first government agencies the Department of Government Efficiency, formerly run by Elon Musk, slashed in its effort to scale back the size of the federal government.

The Trump administration sought to dismantle USAID, terminating thousands of contracts and placing workers on leave.

In a statement in February, the State Department said “significant portions of USAID funding are not aligned with the core national interests of the United States.”

In recorded farewell remarks shared privately with USAID staff on Monday, former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama criticized the decision to gut the agency.

Obama calling the dismantling of USAID a tragedy and a “colossal mistake,” according to The Associated Press, which reviewed portions of the video. Bush focused on PEPFAR — the global health initiative launched under his administration to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic — which is credited for saving 25 million lives, the AP reported.

Humanitarian aid organizations said they have been witnessing the effects of USAID cuts, with programs shutting down that helped communities experiencing poverty and conflict.

“It’s an extremely sad day,” Bob Kitchen, vice president of emergency and humanitarian action with the International Rescue Committee (IRC), told ABC News. “I had the pleasure of working with hundreds of committed USAID staff around the world over the last couple of decades. They’ve done amazing work and funded amazing projects, and it’s sad to see like that’ll come predominantly to an end.”

Kitchen said IRC has lost several of its grants and that 40% of its funding came from USAID. As a result, he said several IRC programs are now closed or will soon close, including water and sanitation programs, mobile health clinics and school programs.

“What that looks like … is many thousands of girls who no longer can go to any form of school [In Afghanistan] as a result of the closure of this program,” Kitchen said. “The one that really hits me is we have somehow found ways to keep thousands of girls going to school, informal schools, underground schools. That has all stopped.”

USAID’s closure comes amid a study published in The Lancet on Monday that found cuts to USAID could cause more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030.

Using models, the authors estimated the impact of USAID funding on deaths from 2001 to 2021. The team then used models to estimate effects up to five years from now.

The study found that more than 91 million deaths were prevented by USAID funding to low-income and middle-income countries over the 21-year study period, including a 65% reduction in mortality from HIV/AIDS and a 51% reduction from malaria.

Forecasting models not only predicted millions of additional deaths due to the steep cuts, but also that one-third of those deaths are projected to occur in children younger than age 5.

The State Department official said such studies “misapprehend” the administration’s new vision for foreign assistance and that reported life-and-death impacts “is not what we’re hearing on the ground.”

“You can go back and relitigate all these little decisions. That’s not our focus,” the official said. “That’s not the secretary’s focus. We are excited about what sort of the ‘America First’ foreign assistance agenda is going to look like, and how much impact we can have moving forward.”

The official said the new strategy would, for example, expect partners to take on more prevention work for patients with HIV infections and reduce their reliance on U.S.-funded programs for preventive health care.

They noted that up to 90% of direct beneficiaries are receiving their medication under PEPFAR to date. There will be more investment in ending mother-to-child HIV transmission, the official said.

“The administration has a target of ending mother-child transmission by the time that President Trump leaves office, and we think that we can meet that and we’re going to invest more in that particular space,” the official said.

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(WASHINGTON) — As Republicans work to pass President Donald Trump’s reconciliation bill by his July 4 deadline, many are worried about the changes that could be coming to Medicaid.

Medicaid is a joint federal and state health insurance program for disabled and low-income Americans. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services works with state programs to administer Medicaid, which enrolls more than 71.2 million people.

The original measure passed by the House made around $600 billion in cuts to Medicaid, which then faced deeper cuts in the Senate.

New estimates from the Congressional Budget Office project federal spending on Medicaid will be reduced by $1 trillion and that the current version of the bill in the Senate would increase the number of uninsured by 11.8 million by 2034.

The passage of the bill would go against Trump’s repeated promises to keep Medicaid intact.

Health policy experts and health care workers say sharp Medicaid cuts could result in vulnerable Americans no longer being able to receive care, either by losing coverage or by closing the centers that provide such care.

Work requirements could result in lost coverage

The bill imposes new 80-hour per month work requirements on able-bodied Medicaid recipients aged 19 to 64 who don’t have dependents. These requirements include working or other approved activities, such as volunteering.

There are exemptions for parents or guardians of children under age 14 and those with disabilities. Under the bill’s current text, these work requirements won’t kick in until 2026.

An analysis published last week from the UC Berkley Labor Center found that work requirements could have a devastating impact on older Americans, between ages 50 and 64.

Nari Rhee, director of the Retirement Security Program at the UC Berkeley Labor Center and author of the analysis, told ABC News that after age 50, employment becomes increasingly difficult.

For instance, many older workers become physically unable to continue employment until they reach retirement age.

“Most people hope and plan to retire at something like age 65, but life happens and quite often what happens is people start having health issues,” Rhee said. “If you’ve had blue collar work or manual work, often you started working probably in your late teens. And so, by the time you get into your 50s, your late 50s, your body is just really worn out, and you’re not no longer able to work the kinds of jobs that you used to do.”

She added that some older workers who are physically unable to do the jobs they used to do or who were laid off have a hard time finding employment again due to age discrimination.

Additionally, many older adults are responsible for caring for family members including spouses and parents, which may mean leaving the workplace entirely.

“In practical terms, there are all kinds of legitimate reasons why, especially older adults, might not be able to meet the work requirements in terms of actually putting in the number of hours, and that’s before we even get to all the administrative issues,” Rhee said. “Even if you do work, you might not be able to navigate the red tape.”

AARP, an interest group that focusing on issues affecting those 50 and older in the U.S., sent a letter over the weekend to Sen. Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer expressing opposition to a provision that would disqualify people who fail to meet Medicaid work requirements from receiving Affordable Care Act premium tax credits.

“This creates a steep coverage cliff for those in their 50s and early 60s — particularly for those nearing retirement or working part-time — who may be left with no affordable coverage option at all.”

Risk of rural hospitals, health centers closing

Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurse Association, said cuts to Medicaid could force rural hospitals and community health centers to close.

Although Senate Republicans have proposed a $25 billion rural health stabilization fund due to cuts to the Medicaid provider tax, it is unclear if that will be enough to prevent hospitals from closing.

Many rural health care centers receive revenue from patients covered by Medicaid and losing that revenue could be costly.

“These hospitals have been on the verge of tight finances for years, and this could be enough to shut them down,” Mensik Kennedy told ABC News. “If we have cuts to Medicaid, we’re going to see these hospitals start to shutter their doors, and people are going to have to drive three, four, hours to deliver a baby, to go have emergency care to get seen, and that’s got to be unacceptable to everyone.”

Arnulfo De La Cruz, president of SEIU 2015, the nation’s largest long-term care union and California’s largest labor union, concurred, saying cuts to Medicaid would impact states’ ability to provide health coverage and long-term care, particularly for rural and low-income Americans.

“Any cuts to Medicaid, the impact in California would be devastating … Medicaid is really the core of how the long-term care system is structured and funded,” he told ABC News. “Medicaid helps to fund clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, home care — it’s all connected as part of our health delivery system. If you were to dismantle or cut to the extent that they’re talking about, I think you see clinics close, you see hospitals close, you see nursing homes close.”

He went on, “I think it would have a devastating impact on the ability for rural Californians and low-income Californians to be able to access their health care, thereby becoming sicker and having to look to much more high-cost alternatives.”

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(NEW YORK) — Rising temperatures, amplified by climate change, are contributing to an increase in cases of sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing repeatedly stops during sleep, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications.

“If temperature keeps rising the way they project it to, the burden and prevalence of sleep apnea may double, increasing by 20-100%, depending on greenhouse gas emission reduction,” Bastien Lechat, the study’s author and a senior research fellow at Flinders University in Australia, told ABC News.

Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, affects about 1 billion people globally, and 80% of people who have it are unaware and untreated, according to the American Medical Association. Common symptoms of OSA include loud snoring, daytime tiredness, high blood pressure and headaches upon waking, even if “sleeping” eight hours, according to the Mayo Clinic.

OSA has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke, dementia, diabetes and depression. People with OSA also have two times greater risk of getting in a car accident, according to Lechat.

The study followed over 115,000 people from numerous countries for up to two years, measuring their sleep quality with below-the-mattress sleep monitors and then cross-referencing this information with weather data to evaluate the relationship between temperature and OSA.

When comparing 80-degree Fahrenheit days to days in the 40s, there was a 40 to 45% increase in the frequency or severity of sleep apnea. The risk was even higher for males and individuals who normally sleep longer or have higher body weight.

Extreme heat can exacerbate OSA by making it even harder to sleep, the study noted. Higher temperatures can disrupt the body’s ability to cool down during the night, which interferes with the natural sleep cycle. This can lead to more frequent awakenings, shallower sleep and worsened airway instability, resulting in more apnea events.

Using existing health-economic models, the researchers estimated over 788,000 healthy years of life were lost or disabled in 2023 due to temperature-related increases in OSA, equivalent to a loss of approximately $68 billion, according to the models.

“When you look at the rate of years of life lost per 100,000 people, this is similar to a disorder like Parkinson’s disease, or bipolar disorder, or similar to low physical activity as a risk factor, so it’s a significant burden,” Lechat told ABC News.

Lechat said that increased access to air conditioning and better diagnosis and treatment of OSA could offset some of the increases caused by climate change.

As our planet warms, heat waves are becoming increasingly more common, having doubled in major U.S. cities since the 1980s, according to the federal government’s Fifth National Climate Assessment.

Overnight low temperatures are rising nearly twice as fast as afternoon highs, and this lack of relief during the night poses a significant health risk — particularly for those without access to air conditioning, according to the assessment.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), made up of members recently hand-selected by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., voted 5-1 on Thursday to recommend against flu vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal.

A few moments before, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee voted 6-0 to recommend all Americans aged 6 months and older receive an annual influenza vaccine.

One committee member, Vicky Pebsworth, abstained on each vote.

Thimerosal is a mercury-based preservative, which is used to prevent microbial contamination of vaccines. Most flu vaccines currently used in the United States contain little to no thimerosal, but both the Food and Drug Administration and the CDC say there is no evidence low doses of thimerosal in vaccines cause harm other than minor reactions at the injection site, such as redness or swelling.

Additionally, a 2010 CDC study found exposure to vaccines and immunoglobulins that contain thimerosal, in prenatal or infant stages, does not increase risk for autism spectrum disorder.

This preservative was previously used in some common childhood immunizations, However, in the late 1990s, federal health agencies, the American Academy of Pediatrics and vaccine manufacturers agreed to reduce or eliminate thimerosal in vaccines as a precautionary measure, which public health experts previously told ABC News gave rise to anti-vaccine groups alleging thimerosal is not safe and fueled speculation that mercury causes autism.

Kennedy, who has promoted vaccine-skeptic views that experts and decades of robust research have refuted, wrote a book in 2014 falsely claiming thimerosal is “toxic to brain tissue” and may cause autism, calling for its removal from all vaccines.

During the ACIP meeting, Lyn Redwood, a former president of Children’s Health Defense, a group that used to be chaired by Kennedy, gave a highly charged presentation as a private citizen. She claimed the preservative was toxic to the brain and refuted evidence-based claims that there has been no proven harm from thimerosal in vaccines.

Her presentation received pushback from ACIP member Dr. Cody Meissner, who was the only member to vote against the recommendation. He said there “is no scientific evidence that thimerosal has caused problems.”

“The risk for influenza is so much greater than the non-existing risk from thimerosal,” he added.

Meissner said vaccines with thimerosal are metabolized as ethylmercury, not methylmercury, which is the form of mercury found in fish and shellfish, and is known to be a neurotoxin.

“I’m not quite sure how to respond to this presentation,” he said. “This is an old issue that has been addressed in the past. Ethylmercury is excreted much more quickly from the body. It is not associated with the high neurotoxicity that methylmercury [is].”

Meissner also added that thimerosal is included in most multi-dose vaccines administered around the world because single-dose vials are more expensive, and removing thimerosal could increase the costs of vaccines.

“Thimerosal is included in most vaccines that are administered around the globe, and that is because single-dose vials are more expensive, and many countries cannot afford a single-dose vial,” Meissner said.

He went on, “I realize ACIP is focused on the United States, but the recommendations that the ACIP makes are followed among many countries around the world and removing thimerosal from all vaccines that are used in other countries, for example, is going to reduce access to these vaccines, it will increase cost.”

Multiple liaisons of medical groups in the committee also questioned in the meeting why Redwood was permitted to present given her limited scientific background and pushed back on the lack of peer-reviewed studies in her presentation.

“This committee has always prided itself on openness, transparency and data and evidence. So I am wondering if we will have an actual scientific presentation with peer-reviewed literature, strong evidence to actually discuss this issue, as many statements have been made here today, without support of science or evidence, but merely opinion,” Dr. Jason Goldman, a liaison for the American College of Physicians (ACP), said in the meeting.

A CDC review of evidence on thimerosal was previously published on the agency’s website — showing no safety risks from the ingredient — but was later taken down. A former CDC official posted a copy of the article online.

“A scientifically rigorous CDC report reviewing the safety of thimerosal was posted for public access and then abruptly removed at the direction of the Office of the Secretary. The removal of this document, which contextualized decades of evidence showing no link between thimerosal and neurotoxicity or autism, raises serious concerns about transparency and the integrity of the decision-making process,” Sean O’Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Infectious Diseases, said in a statement to ABC News.

Doctors have voiced concern that no longer recommending thimerosal in some flu shots could lead to less people getting vaccinated and fuel further distrust of vaccines.

“Any decrease in the number of flu vaccines available will likely result in fewer people being vaccinated and subsequently more hospitalizations and deaths. Its removal could also signal to the general public unwarranted safety concerns,” O’Leary said.

Another heated exchange in the meeting came during the discussion of flu vaccines when ACIP member Dr. Robert Malone described the 250 flu deaths among children during the most recent flu season as a “modest number.”

“The 250 pediatric deaths, which is, let’s acknowledge, is a modest number fortunately,” Malone said.

This past season saw the highest number of flu deaths among children for a non-pandemic season, and the highest number seen since the 2009 H1N1 global flu pandemic, CDC data shows.

Malone received immediate push back during the meeting. Goldman from ACP said the number of deaths “is not a small number, especially if it’s your own child dying from the vaccine preventable illness.”

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(WASHINGTON) — The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), made up of members recently hand-selected by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., voted 5-1 on Thursday to recommend against flu vaccines containing the preservative thimerosal.

One committee member, Vicky Pebsworth, abstained on each vote.

A few moments before, the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee voted 6-0 to recommend all Americans aged 6 months and older receive an annual influenza vaccine.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee voted on Thursday to recommend infants receive a newer monoclonal antibody shot for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 5-2 to recommend clesrovimab, made by Merck, for infants 8 months and younger who are not protected by a maternal vaccine.

In a second vote, the committee voted unanimously to update the resolution for the federal Vaccines for Children program to include details about the newly approved antibody shot. About half of all U.S. children are eligible for free or low-cost vaccines.

Usually, the CDC director signs off on the votes for final recommendation but, because there is currently no CDC director, the final decision will go to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

If signed off by Kennedy, clesrovimab will made available along with another RSV shot made by Sanofi/AstraZeneca.

This marks the first vote of the panel since Kennedy dismissed the entire panel and appointed his own hand-selected members.

Currently, RSV vaccines are recommended for pregnant women between 32 and 36 weeks of pregnancy to pass on protection to a fetus, which should last throughout their first RSV season.

For babies 8 months and younger born to mothers who did not receive a maternal RSV vaccine, monoclonal antibody shots are available.

Monoclonal antibodies are proteins manufactured in a lab and mimic the antibodies the body naturally creates when fighting an infection. They do not activate the immune system as would occur with vaccination. The shot is also recommended for a small group of children from 8 months old through 19 months old who are at increased risk for severe RSV.

During the first day of the meeting, on Wednesday, Dr. Georgina Peacock, director of the Immunization Services Division in the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), shared CDC data showing 57% of infants born between April 2024 and March 2025 were protected from RSV by maternal vaccination or receipt of nirsevimab, the shot made by Sanofi/AstraZeneca.

Dr. Cody Meissner, one of the new ACIP members, described the vaccine and antibody data, showing its real-world impacts as a “truly spectacular accomplishment.”

“People should understand this is a truly spectacular accomplishment and will have enormous impact on public health,” he said.

Another ACIP member, Retsef Levi, expressed some skepticism, saying he wanted to see more data on how efficacy for the maternal vaccine changes over time, adding that RSV is a “tricky” virus that “fools interventions in unexpected ways.”

In response, Dr. Adam MacNeil of the NCRID said vaccine efficacy does wane over time, but the maternal RSV vaccine protects newborns and infants when they’re at their most vulnerable, before they develop more robust immune systems.

The votes comes after the group announced on Wednesday it would review the current childhood immunization schedule.

Martin Kulldorff, the ACIP’s new chair, said two new work groups would be established, one focusing on the cumulative effects of children and adolescents receiving all recommended vaccines on the schedule and another reviewing vaccines that haven’t been examined for more than seven years.

The latter group may discuss whether the hepatitis B vaccine is necessary at birth before a baby leaves the hospital, according to Kulldorff.

“The number of vaccines that our children and adolescents receive today exceeds what children in most other developed nations receive and what most of us in this room received when we were children,” Kulldorff said.

The American Academy of Pediatrics put out a video on Wednesday, saying immunization policy through ACIP is “no longer a credible process” and that it will continue to publish its own vaccine recommendations for children.

In the morning, CDC staff presented data on COVID-19 vaccines, showing safety and efficacy as well as a reduction in hospitalizations and deaths.

For the 2024-25 updated COVID vaccine against emergency department and urgent care encounters, the CDC found 79% effectiveness for children between nine months and 4 years old, 57% effectiveness among children between five and 17 years old and 34% effectiveness for those aged 18 and older.

Kulldorff asked where the data shows COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness from placebo-controlled trials. Dr. Adam MacNeil, from the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), said the CDC’s evaluation of effectiveness came from real-world data.

“Randomized clinical control trials are not necessarily comparable to what we’re currently seeing with the vaccine,” MacNeil said. “Where we’re trying to now monitor is the real-world impacts of these vaccines as opposed to clinical trial data, which was certainly extensively documented.”

The ACIP members also discussed questions about potential safety signals surrounding the COVID vaccine, with the CDC determining that myocarditis and pericarditis — inflammation of the heart muscle and the sac around the heart, respectively — are still risks, but no other risks have been found.

ABC News’ Sony Salzman contributed to this report.

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(OHIO) — Republican lawmakers in Ohio are planning on introducing a bill on Wednesday that would ban almost all abortions and criminalize the procedure.

The “Ohio Prenatal Equal Protection Act” would overturn the amendment to the Ohio constitution, voted on in 2023, that establishes “an individual right to one’s own reproductive medical treatment, including but not limited to abortion” before viability.

Reproductive medical treatment includes contraception, fertility treatments and miscarriage care.

Abortions are currently allowed up to 20 weeks since fertilization, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that studies sexual and reproductive rights.

“[It] is a very, very simple and beautiful piece of legislation in that all it does is identify all human beings as persons deserving equal protection of the law, both born humans and pre-born humans,” anti-abortion advocate Austin Beigel, with End Abortion Ohio, told ABC News. “So, it identifies those personhood rights starting at the moment of fertilization, when the new distinct organism is formed, the new human life that being that person now has equal protection under the law.”

Kellie Copeland, executive director of Abortion Forward, which helped pass the 2023 amendment in Ohio, said the bill goes against the will of voters.

“This is the most extreme and anti-life legislation that you can imagine,” she told ABC News. “It would strip Ohioans of their constitutionally guaranteed right to bodily autonomy, and that’s the goal of this legislation.”

When Beigel was asked if he was concerned that the bill may go against the will of the voters, he said he was not because “the will of the voters was evil.”

“In many times in our country’s history, the majority of people have desired evil things. We have discriminated horribly against the Black man and woman, and people wanted that,” he continued. “So, I have no qualms about saying I oppose the majority of the will of the people when the people desire something that is evil.”

Copeland replied that “subjecting people to the loss of bodily autonomy, taking basic human rights away from Ohioans is the real evil that we’re talking about here.”

Beigel said he has been working with Republican state Reps. Levi Dean and Jonathan Newman on the bill, which uses the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause — part of the Fourteenth Amendment — to override Ohio’s constitutional amendment. Beigel said the co-sponsors will be announced on Wednesday.

Dean’s and Newman’s offices did not immediately return ABC News’ request for comment.

The bill would ban abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest. The only exceptions would be for a spontaneous miscarriage or to save the life of the pregnant woman.

The bill would also criminalize those who have abortions, not just the providers who perform the procedure.

Copeland she is worried the bill could lead to attacks on people who support abortion rights or who underwent abortions.

“When people equate reproductive health care with murder, that kind of rhetoric invites violence,” Copeland said. “It invites violence that we have seen at abortion clinics that we have seen perpetrated against abortion providers.”

Beigel said the bill does not outlaw contraception and is not designed to outlaw in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

However, he did say that IVF may not be able to function the way that it does now if the bill is passed because it would apply equal protection to “pre-born humans.”

“The courts are going to have to debate the implications of this,” he said. “Is it actually moral to freeze a young human being in a cryochamber and preserve them at the age they are and not let them grow?”

Ohio’s history of abortion bills

In 2019, Ohio lawmakers passed a so-called heartbeat bill that bans abortions after cardiac activity can be detected, which occurs as early as six weeks of pregnancy, before many women know they’re pregnant. It was signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine.

The ban had no exceptions for rape or incest. The only exceptions were cases of ectopic pregnancies and to prevent the mother’s death or impairment of a major bodily function.

A federal judge blocked the ban in 2019, but it was reinstated just hours after the Supreme Court decision to overrule Roe v. Wade.

In September 2022, an Ohio lower court granted a temporary restraining order before granting a preliminary injunction a few weeks later. In December 2023, the state’s Supreme Court dismissed the state’s appeal and sent the case back to the lower courts.

In November 2023, 57% of voters approved the passing of the amendment, adding abortion protections to the state constitution.

Much of the six-week ban was rendered unconstitutional after the amendment went into effect in December 2023, Ohio’s Attorney General Dave Yost said earlier this year.

However, some lawmakers have tried to maintain other parts of the ban, including reporting requirements and a 24-hour waiting period before an abortion can be administered. An Ohio judge temporarily blocked the 24-hour waiting period in August 2024.

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