CHICAGO (WLS) — Illinois and other states are currently exploring solutions to combat federal vaccine information that used to be trusted by physicians and families but is now questioned by many in the medical community.
The director of the Illinois Department of Public Health informed the ABC7 I-Team about ongoing discussions regarding the potential establishment of cross-state vaccination initiatives.
These discussions unfolded as healthcare professionals and others protested on Wednesday during the inaugural meeting of the new advisory committee on immunization practices at the CDC. This meeting followed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s decision to dismiss all 17 previous committee members and appoint a new board, which includes individuals skeptical of vaccines like himself, to shape national vaccination policies.
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States like Illinois are grappling with how to pick up the ball many in the medical world many believe the feds have dropped.
“What is at stake here, the trust and the credibility in this process that makes it a universal federal standard,” said Dr. Sameer Vohra, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health.
He said the erosion of that trust is forcing their hand and he and his team are closely watching the two day ACIP committee meeting closely and are ready to act if necessary to protect the health of Illinoisans.
The IDPH director recently sent out a letter to colleagues saying it is doing everything in its power to remain a trusted source of information on vaccines for the public.
“When we talk about vaccines, maintaining that credibility, and if it continues to erode, we will see different coalitions emerge, and we are thinking through all of those contingencies here in Illinois,” Dr. Vohra said.
He explained that he has been in conversations with his counterparts across state lines in the event recommendations from the CDC advisory board go against medical best practices for vaccination and immunization.
Under consideration is regional block sharing of medically-sound information to the public, and even how to offer vaccinations if they are not covered by insurance based on new federal policies.
“I think it goes back to knows what state can take on the burden of what has been a federal government national enterprise,” Dr. Vohra said.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is also taking a firm stand against changes underway with the new ACIP board, posting a message from AAP president Dr. Susan Kressly: “For decades, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other organizations have worked to shape immunization policy through the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). But now, with the committee dismissals, it is no longer a credible process.”
AAP announced it will continue to publish its own vaccine schedule recommendations independent of the federal government.
The vaccine committee, over the next days with its new members, will be considering serious issues such as RSV shots for children illness, which can be deadly to young children if not vaccinated for.
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