CHICAGO (WLS) — Officials in Illinois and various states are now exploring ways to provide alternatives to the federal vaccine information that both healthcare providers and families have historically depended on, as many in the medical community express doubts about its reliability.
The director of the Illinois Department of Public Health shared with the ABC7 I-Team that current discussions include the possibility of creating interstate vaccination initiatives.
These strategies were disclosed as doctors and other stakeholders demonstrated on Wednesday, coinciding with the new CDC advisory panel on immunization practices convening for the first time. This followed the decision by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. to dismiss all 17 members and appoint a completely new board, inclusive of some individuals who share his critical views on vaccines, to shape the country’s vaccine 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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