Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Helen Branswell
Published on 2024-02-15 22:49:02
The Department of Health and Human Services has announced the appointment of eight new members to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), one of whom will take on the role of chairman. With this announcement, the committee, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on vaccine policy, is back at full strength after experiencing significant vacancies.
Helen Keipp Bredenberg Talbot, an infectious diseases researcher at Vanderbilt University, has been reappointed to the committee and will serve as the new chair. Talbot previously served as a member of ACIP for five years, and her reappointment comes after a period in which the committee’s membership had dwindled due to several unoccupied positions.
The appointment of new members comes as some previous members’ terms expired, including Nirav Shah, who resigned from the committee after being named principal deputy director of the CDC. Additionally, the terms of four of the remaining seven members were set to expire at the end of June. However, with the latest appointments, the committee will enjoy a full roster of 16 voting members, expanding its size by one.
Other members appointed to the committee include Edwin Asturias, a pediatric infectious diseases specialist at the Colorado School of Public Health; Noel Brewer, a professor of health behavior at the University of North Carolina; Denise Jamieson, dean of the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine; Helen Chu, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Washington; Yvonne (Bonnie) Maldonado, a professor of pediatrics at Stanford University; George Kuchel, a professor of geriatric medicine at the University of Connecticut; Robert Schechter, a medical officer with California Department of Public Health; and Albert Shaw, an infectious diseases professor at the Yale School of Medicine. They have all been appointed to four-year terms.
Previously, the depleted membership of the committee raised concerns about its ability to convene meetings, particularly with regard to the quorum required for decision-making. However, these concerns have been alleviated with the new appointments, and the committee will no longer need to resort to appointing temporary voting members to achieve quorum.
The lack of appointments and unoccupied positions had flummoxed public health experts and raised questions about the effective functioning of the ACIP. The committee plays a crucial role in advising the CDC on how vaccines should be used in the United States, and the vacancies had cast a shadow over its ability to carry out this important function.
The appointment of new members and the announcement of a new chair signal a positive step forward for the ACIP and the broader public health efforts. It ensures that the committee is well-equipped to carry out its vital role of providing evidence-based recommendations on vaccine policy, and its expanded size reflects the government’s commitment to promoting informed decision-making in public health.
