Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Secretary
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Ave SW
Washington, DC 20201
The Honorable Bill Cassidy
455 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Susan Monarez, PhD
Acting Director
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30329
February 20, 2025
We, the undersigned medical experts and organizations, share the profound mission to make America healthier. Building on the legacy of vaccine-driven public health improvements in America and across the world, we are encouraged by the many commitments delivered during Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s confirmation process to become Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, particularly those Senator Bill Cassidy referenced Feb. 4 on the Senate floor.
In accordance with these commitments, we recognize a key starting point, as the Advisory Committee of Immunization Practices (ACIP) was scheduled to meet next week in Atlanta. ACIP had a full agenda of critical, vaccine-related decisions, including discussion linked to deadly illnesses like meningococcal disease. There is great benefit to Americans in a prompt rescheduling.
Each ACIP meeting holds tremendous weight and relevance. Infectious diseases are constantly evolving opponents; vaccines are among the best tools for constantly adapting and responding to the latest public health threats. ACIP meetings, which review the latest vaccination data, vote on recommendations, and produce public transparency via a live video stream, three times a year, are the exact activities in which a thoughtful, transparent and well-organized scientific community engages.
Making America healthy requires healthy discussion and timely, evidence-based decisions. This meeting should be no different.
The public agenda, finalized for more than a month before today’s postponement, touched upon a range of important topics. Those included meningococcal disease, which college students — living and socializing in close quarters — possess a higher risk to contract relative to non-college students.[1] In 2023, the U.S. experienced a 10-year-high of 438 confirmed and probable cases, and this trend continued with a 23% increase in cases during the first 39 weeks of 2024 compared with the same period in 2023.[2] Last year, the Georgia Department of Public Health issued a public health alert after confirming 28 cases and four related deaths since 2023.[3] Discussing vaccines against this dangerous pathogen at the meeting will give parents, young adults, and their healthcare providers the information needed to make health decisions before a new school year in the fall. Talks in Atlanta were scheduled to encompass younger ages, too.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continues to wreak havoc across the U.S. For children younger than 1, RSV is considered the most common cause of pneumonia and bronchiolitis.[4] On average, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), RSV results in 100,000-150,000 hospitalizations for American adults 60 and older.[5] There were between 5,700 and 14,000 total RSV deaths in the U.S. from Oct. 1, 2024, to Feb. 1.[6] Furthermore, each region in Florida recently saw a substantial increase in RSV-related emergency department visits for children under 5 compared with the previous three-year average.[7] Though RSV cases tend to peak in December and January, cases continue into March and April and can vary significantly in timing within the U.S.[8] RSV vaccines would have generated substantial conversation at the meeting.
Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers have unique considerations when traveling abroad, including elevated risk in certain countries to an infected mosquito bite. In 2024, nearly 200 Americans contracted chikungunya virus outside the U.S., per CDC tracking.[9] The case number, highest since 2016, saw a higher-than-expected association with travel to India, although the painful viral infection is also endemic in other regions, including Brazil.[10] ACIP plans to delve into that topic, helping Americans educate and prepare themselves to mitigate that number climbing in 2025. The meeting’s timing afforded a buffer before many Americans travel to affected areas during the spring and summer months.
Beyond individual topics and votes, ACIP meetings create an invaluable touch point within the scientific community. Work groups and discussions help cultivate relationships, promote agility, and develop the collaborative, data-driven problem solving required to respond efficiently to a public health crisis. There is also typically a public comment period, which was not made available on the online portal before today’s postponement. Restoring freedom of communication from the public is critical.
Rescheduling this critical meeting and reconciling the absent portal for public remarks would represent a meaningful early follow-through from the Trump administration and its new HHS Secretary to ensure Americans receive the information needed to protect themselves against vaccine-preventable illnesses, confirming immunization’s importance in the mission to make America healthier.
We stand ready to assist in efforts to improve health in America.
Sincerely,
Alliance for Aging Research
Alliance for Women's Health and Prevention
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Academy of Pediatrics
American College Health Association
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
American Medical Association
American Osteopathic Association
American Society of Consultant Pharmacists
Arthritis Foundation
CancerCare
Caregiver Action Network
Community Catalyst
Families Fighting Flu
Gerontological Society of America
Global Coalition on Aging
HealthyWomen
Hydrocephalus Association
Immunize.org
Infectious Diseases Society of America
National Alliance for Caregiving
National Consumers League
National Forum for Heart Disease & Stroke Prevention
National Minority Quality Forum
NTM Info & Research, Inc.
Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease
Partnership to Fight Infectious Disease
Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society
Prevent Blindness
RetireSafe
Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists
The COSHAR Healthy Communities Foundation
Vaccinate Your Family
***
Gerald Pier, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Jessica Little, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Stefan Gravenstein, Brown University
Amanda Wilkerson, Brown University Health
Samuel J Borgert, F2G Ltd., University of Florida College of Pharmacy
David Perlin, Hackensack Meridian Health Center for Discovery and Innovation
Becci Hannigan, Houston Health Department
Cesar Arias, Houston Methodist
Kristen Sachman, Indiana Department of Health Immunization Division
Clair Perry-Stewart, Indiana Department of Health
Amy J Khan, Internal Medicine & Public Health Physician
Meg Frazer, JWM Neurology
Maria Munar, Ledge Light Health District
Kelly L. Jones, MCHES, CCHC
Jayne Seitz, RN
Bonnie Walker, LPN, PriMED Physicians
Gabrielle Zartman, RN, Princeton University-University Health Services
Rachael Porter, Rollins School of Public Health
Angelita Fortushniak, RN, Sanilac County Health Department
Thomas G Ferry, MD, FACP, FCCP
Ellen Jo Baron, Ph.D., D(ABMM), F(IDSA), F(AAM), Stanford University
Steven Laing, Society of Toxicologic Pathology
Danyel Furge, Super Shot
John S. Bradley, MD, University of California School of Medicine
Ryan Shields, University of Pittsburgh
Maria Fishwick, University of TN College of Public Health
Kathryn M. Edwards, MD, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Jessica Buchanan, Vermont Department of Health
Nancy Cavanaugh, MSN, CPNP-PC
Iyabode Beysolow, MD, MPH, YB Consultants, LLC
Comments