The advisers are set to meet with the CDC.
Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are considering advising the agency to narrow use of COVID-19 vaccines.
A majority of experts in a subgroup of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which advises the CDC on vaccines, have determined that the COVID-19 vaccines should not be universally recommended, according to a presentation Dr. Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos of the CDC delivered to the panel on April 15.
Seventy-six percent of the advisers in the subgroup studying the matter said they support a non-universal recommendation as of April 3.
That’s up from 67 percent in February.
Advisers who were polled said they would be comfortable with any non-universal recommendation, such as only recommending the vaccines for certain age groups.
“I’m very happy that we’re seriously considering a risk-based recommendation,” Dr. Jamie Loehr, an ACIP member, said during Tuesday’s meeting.
Loehr also said he was concerned that if a risk-based recommendation is implemented, it might send a message that COVID-19 is no longer dangerous, when it’s still causing hospitalizations and deaths.
Charlotte Moser, the consumer representative committee member, said she was also supportive of narrowing the recommendation. She said she was thinking that a narrower recommendation, though, should emphasize the importance of vaccinating young children.
Dr. Denise Jamieson, another member, said she did not think a narrower recommendation was wise. She noted that, according to an unpublished CDC analysis of medical claims, some three-quarters of U.S. adults have at least one condition, such as chronic liver disease, that puts them at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
Loehr said that in his own practice, the percentage is much lower.
Advisers said they would be comfortable with any non-universal recommendation, such as only recommending the vaccines for certain age groups.
The CDC currently recommends all Americans aged 6 months and older receive one of the available COVID-19 vaccines, even if they have been vaccinated in the past.
ACIP merely provides advice to the CDC, but the agency typically turns the advice into official recommendations.
A formal ACIP vote on advice to the CDC on the next round of COVID-19 vaccines, or the 2025–2026 vaccines, is not expected to take place until June, according to the CDC.
