CDC advisers to vote on dropping universal newborn hepatitis B vaccine
A Hepatitis B vaccine in Atlanta, Georgia, September 29, 2023. Alyssa Pointer for The Washington Post via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — An influential group of advisers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during a meeting on Thursday is considering dropping a longstanding recommendation to give all newborns a hepatitis B vaccination in the hospital.
The CDC vaccine advisory committee, called ACIP, is also weighing new restrictions on existing recommendations for the combined MMRV shot to protect against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox.
An official vote is expected on Thursday afternoon. From there, the vote will need signoff from the acting CDC director or the Health and Human Services secretary.
The committee is not considering eliminating or recommending against these vaccines completely. But the changes that have been proposed could result in major disruptions and more illness, experts warn.
Experts say these changes could cause confusion, more doctors’ appointments and more individual shots for children, which could potentially lead to missed cases or more infections. It could also complicate vaccine supply and manufacturing logistics.
On Wednesday, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a liver doctor, told reporters that Americans should not have confidence in this committee’s decisions if they change the current vaccination schedule.
“I can promise you there will be some hepatitis B transmission,” Cassidy told reporters when asked what would happen if the committee makes changes to already-existing recommendations.
This week’s meeting is the committee’s second since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed all 17 of its members in June. Of the 12 advisers who have since been appointed, many have previously expressed vaccine-skeptical views.
Most major insurance providers have said they will continue covering existing vaccines at least through 2026. But any changes made today will likely impact the more than half of American children who are funded through a federal program, which is tied to the CDC committee recommendations.
The committee members so far are not unanimous during discussion, with some saying the proposed changes could take away parents’ choice — especially regarding the combined MMRV vaccine.
Currently, parents have a choice of giving their children measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox all as one shot, or they can opt to give measles, mumps and rubella as one shot, and give chickenpox as a separate dose. Some studies have suggested a slightly elevated — but overall very rare — risk of seizures when all four are given as a combo shot to kids 12 to 15 months old.
But many parents and clinics may still prefer a single shot. Children also get a second dose of MMRV after the age of 4. The upcoming vote Thursday only discusses the first dose, and parents would still have a choice about their preference for the second shot in older children.
“The disadvantage of giving two doses, or as was suggested, separating the two doses, is that we know compliance falls, and the advantage of combination vaccines is that children and adults are more likely to complete the vaccine requirements if it’s given as a single dose,” said ACIP member Dr. Cody Meissner.
“If parents would choose to have one one jab and one vaccination, it would not be covered by the [federal vaccines for children program] over time accessing clinical care, if they understand the risks and benefits, that option is basically taken away from them,” said Dr. Joseph R. Hibbeln, another committee member.
(WASHINGTON) — The National Transportation Safety Board on Thursday continued to grill officials from the Army, air traffic controllers and members from the Federal Aviation Administration over protocols following the January deadly air collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and a passenger jet approaching Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA.)
The hearing, the second of three days, is focused on the training guidance of the parties involved in the Jan. 29 incident that resulted in the deaths of 67 people. NTSB started the daylong hearing examining the responsibilities and readiness of DCA’s air traffic controllers.
Clark Allen, the former operations manager of the control tower at DCA, was asked Thursday about the training for the air traffic controllers. Allen said they have been trained to flag a supervisor and ask for additional help if they are being overwhelmed, but said there is no training for supervisors to proactively look out for that pile up of duties.
On Wednesday, the NTSB revealed that the pilots of a Black Hawk helicopter likely didn’t know how high they were flying or how close they were to an airliner before the deadly crash — potentially because of faulty altimeters inside the series of Black Hawk helicopters like the one they were flying.
Nick Fuller, the FAA’s acting deputy chief operating officer of operations, testified Thursday that it is up to the pilot to maintain visual separation while in the air.
“It is the pilot’s responsibility, but air traffic controllers will go the extra mile to make sure we are providing extra information as necessary,” he said.
Later asked if DCA was safe for flights, Fuller said it was.
“The controllers at DCA are responsible, well trained and I would have no problem leaving on a flight in or out of that airport,” he said.
NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy alleged on Wednesday that some FAA tower employees knew there “was a problem” with U.S. Army helicopters flying in close proximity to passenger aircraft near the airport.
The agency also revealed that the warnings to the helicopter from air traffic control were “stepped on” as a microphone button was being pushed at the same time as the controller.
Homendy, however, said it’s possible that the midair collision was not due to pilot error.
“So it’s always easy for people to focus on there was a pilot error here. We don’t know. We’re going to look but it’s possible there was zero pilot error here,” she told reporters Wednesday.
Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Stephen Miran, ABC News
Chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers Stephen Miran said that some countries that are negotiating with the United States in good faith could see tariffs delayed as President Donald Trump’s deadline to strike trade deals closes in.
Speaking with ABC News’ “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos, Miran hedged on what deals are in the works.
“On tariffs, the president’s deadline is approaching for the deals. You’ve only seen three deals so far. What should we expect next?” Stephanopoulos asked.
“I’m still optimistic that we’re going to get a number of deals later this week. Part of that is because all the negotiating goes through a series of steps that lead to a culmination timed with the deadline,” Miran said.
Pressed on if these other deals fail to come through and if Trump would extend the deadline, Miran indicated that could be possible.
“Well, my expectation would be that countries that are negotiating in good faith and making the concessions that they need to get to a deal, but the deal is just not there yet because it needs more time, my expectation will be that those countries get a roll, you know, sort of get the date rolled,” he said.
Asked which countries could see that date shifted, Miran refused to elaborate, but said that he has heard good things about talks with Europe and India.
“I would expect that a number of countries that are in the process of making those concessions, you know, they might see their date rolled. For the countries that aren’t making concessions, for the countries that aren’t negotiating in good faith, I would expect them to sort of see higher tariffs,” Miran said. “But again, the president will decide later this week and in the time following whether or not the countries are doing what it takes to get access to the American market like they’ve grown accustomed to.”
Stephanopolous was also joined by former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, who balked at the potential economic benefits of Trump’s tariffs.
“It probably will collect some revenue at the cost of higher inflation for American consumers, less competitiveness for American producers,” Summers said. “So higher prices, less competitiveness, and not really that much revenue relative to what’s being given to the very wealthy in this [budget] bill.”
Here are more highlights from Miran and Summers’ interviews:
Miran on CBO estimates for Trump’s megabill Stephanopoulos: Why should we not believe the CBO when they say that something approaching a little more than 11 million people are going to be — are going to lose their health care coverage because of the Medicaid cuts?
Miran: Well, because they’ve been wrong in the past. When Republicans repealed the individual mandate penalty during the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in the president’s first term, CBO predicted that there was going to be about 5 million people losing their insurance by 2019. And you know what? The number was not very significantly changed at all. It was a tiny fraction of that. And so, they’ve been wrong in the past. And look, if we don’t pass the — if we didn’t pass the bill, 8 to 9 million people would’ve lost their insurance for sure, as a result of the biggest tax act in history creating a huge recession. The best way to make sure people are insured is to grow the economy, get them jobs, get them working, get them insurance through their employer. Creating jobs, creating a booming economy is always the best way to get people insured.
Miran on past tax cuts Stephanopoulos: You say this is all going to turbocharge growth. We have seen some experience with this back — in Ronald Reagan’s day, back in 1981. He had huge tax cuts. The growth didn’t come, and they had to end up raising taxes for several years after that. Concerned that could happen again?
Miran: Well, like I said before, you know, history’s on our side. If you look at what happened in the president’s first term, growth soared and there was no real material, you know, meaningful long-term decline in revenue. Revenue as a share of GDP was 17.1% last year, the same as it was before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. So, you got this huge surge in growth as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. There was no material long-term decline in revenue. Corporate revenue even went up as a share of GDP from 1.6 to 1.9%. And the growth delivered. And we expect the same thing to happen this time.
Summers on cuts to the safety net Stephanopoulos: In The New York Times this week, you and Robert Rubin, who also served as president, as Treasury secretary, called this bill “dangerous,” said it “posed a huge risk to the economy.” What are those risks?
Summers: George, just to start with, what your people have been describing is the biggest cut in the American safety net in history. The Yale Budget Lab estimates that it will kill, over 10 years, 100,000 people. That is 2,000 days of death like we’ve seen in Texas this weekend. In my 70 years, I’ve never been as embarrassed for my country on July Fourth. These higher interest rates, these cutbacks in subsidies to electricity, these reductions in the availability of housing, the fact that hospitals are going to have to take care of these people and pass on the costs to everybody else, and that’s going to mean more inflation, more risk that the Fed has to raise interest rates and run the risk of recession, more stagflation, that’s the risk facing every middle-class family in our country because of this bill. And for what? A million dollars over 10 years to the top tenth of a percent of our population. Is that the highest priority use of federal money right now? I don’t think so. This is a shameful act by our Congress and by our president that is going to set our country back.
Summers on claims of economic growth Stephanopoulos: Part of the president’s argument is that economic growth sparked by the bill will alleviate the dangers that you talk about here. The chair of the Council of Economic Advisers is up next and his council issued a report this week projecting $11 trillion in deficit reduction from growth, higher tax revenue and savings on debt payments. How do you respond to that?
Summers: It is, respectfully, nonsense. None of us can forecast what’s going to happen to economic growth. What we can forecast is that when people have to hold government debt instead of being able to invest it in new capital goods, new machinery, new buildings, that makes the economy less productive. What we can forecast is that when we’re investing less in research and development, investing less in our schools, that there is a negative impact on economic growth. There is no economist anywhere, without a strong political agenda, who is saying that this bill is a positive for the economy. And the overwhelming view is that it is probably going to make the economy worse. Think about it this way. How long can the world’s greatest debtor remain the world’s greatest power? And this is piling more debt onto the economy than any piece of tax legislation in dollar terms that we have ever had.
(WASHINGTON) –Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday that Deputy Attorney Todd Blanche will meet with Ghislaine Maxwell, the convicted associate of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, sometime in the “coming days.”
“President Trump has told us to release all credible evidence. If Ghislane Maxwell has information about anyone who has committed crimes against victims, the FBI and the DOJ will hear what she has to say,” Blanche said in the statement posted by Bondi on X.
Blanche also said that the joint statement from the Justice Department and FBI on July 6 — which stated they would not release any additional files on Epstein and that they determined there was no Epstein “client list” — “remains as accurate today as it was when it was written.”
“Namely, that in the recent thorough review of the files maintained by the FBI in the Epstein case, no evidence was uncovered that could predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties,” Blanche said.
He added that up “until now, no administration on behalf of the Department had inquired about her willingness to meet with the government.”
The statement comes as a growing chorus of lawmakers have called for Maxwell to testify about her relationship with Epstein, and while the department is actively opposing Maxwell’s efforts to appeal her conviction for conspiring with and aiding Epstein in his sexual abuse of underage girls.
David Oscar Markus, the appellate counsel for Maxwell, confirmed to ABC News that they are in talks with the government.
“I can confirm that we are in discussions with the government, and that Ghislaine will always testify truthfully,” Markus said. “We are grateful to President Trump for his commitment to uncovering the truth in this case.”
Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges and sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022.
Amid growing calls from Republicans to release the Epstein files, an Oversight subcommittee approved a motion on Tuesday morning to direct Chairman James Comer to issue a subpoena for Maxwell testimony.
The motion was offered by Republican Rep. Tim Burchett during an unrelated hearing in the Subcommittee on Government Operations. Burchett’s motion was approved by a voice vote with only a few members present in the room.
“It’s about to get real,” Rep. Burchett posted on X.
Comer said he plans to subpoena Maxwell “as expeditiously as possible,” according to a committee spokeswoman.
“Since Ms. Maxwell is in federal prison, the Committee will work with the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Prisons to identify a date when Committee can depose her,” the spokeswoman said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson brought up the Epstein files during a GOP House news conference Tuesday and reiterated his calls to release the files, but emphasized that there needs to be protection for the victims.
“There are innocent victims of those sex crimes,” Johnson told reporters.
Johnson also slammed Democrats for calling out the administration for not being transparent in the Epstein case.
“What we refuse to do is participate in the Democrats’ political games,” he said.
Several hours later, when asked about the meeting between Maxwell and Blanche, Trump said he “doesn’t know a thing” about it, but said the meeting “sounds appropriate to do.”
“I don’t really follow that too much,” Trump said, calling the demand for the release of the files to be a “witch hunt.”
Last week, President Donald Trump ordered the DOJ to “release all Grand Jury testimony with respect to Jeffrey Epstein, subject only to Court Approval,” he said on social media.
The DOJ requested in its filing, which was signed by Bondi and Blanche, for the court to “conclude that the Epstein and [Ghislaine] Maxwell cases qualify as a matter of public interest, release the associated grand jury transcripts, and lift preexisting protective orders.”
ABC News’ Lauren Peller contributed to this report.
