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CDC Vaccine Advisors Unanimously Vote to Transition from Broad Covid-19 Vaccine Recommendation
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Key Takeaways
- CDC advisors now recommend shared clinical decision-making for Covid-19 vaccines, requiring patient consultation with healthcare providers.
- ACIP was split on requiring prescriptions for Covid-19 vaccines, with a tie-breaking "no" vote from the committee chair.
CDC vaccine advisors shift to shared decision-making for Covid-19 vaccines, emphasizing patient-provider consultations amid insurance concerns.
CDC’s advisory suggests consultation with a health care provider for patients seeking a Covid-19 vaccine.
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On Friday, September 19, 2025, CDC’s vaccine advisors came to a unanimous vote shifting away from broad recommendations for Covid-19 vaccines. According to a report from CNN, the advisors agreed on transferring its recommendation to a process known as shared clinical decision-making, which entails patients consulting a professional healthcare provider before receiving the vaccine.
Requiring clinical decision-making “assumes health care and insurance,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who recently resigned as head of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Daskalakis continued to say, “We do not have universal health care in this country, and we know millions of people are losing insurance.”
What was ACIP’s decision on Covid-19 vaccine recommendations?
Despite the unanimous vote from CDC’s vaccine advisors, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was split on its recommendation to require prescriptions for Covid-19 vaccines. According to a report from CNN, the vote ended in even split 6:6, with the committee’s chair, Dr. Martin Kulldorff, being the tie-breaking “no” vote.1
The committee’s new recommendation suggests that people aged 65-and-older should consult with a doctor or healthcare provider on the decision to receive a Covid-19 vaccine. The committee additionally voted that the same should apply to people aged 6 months to 64 years. According to a report from CNN, the committee specifically mentioned “placing an emphasis that the risk-benefit of vaccination is most favorable for individuals who are at an increased risk for severe COVID-19 disease and lowest for individuals who are not at an increased risk, according to the CDC list of COVID-19 risk factors.”1
As of now the committee’s new recommendations are not final and await CDC director Jim O’Neil’s official signoff. As current acting director of the CDC and deputy of Robert Kennedy Jr., O’Neil began overseeing the agency following Dr. Susan Monrez’s removale last month.
Dr. Dorit Reiss, a professor of law at the University of California, San Francisco who specializes in vaccines and vaccine policy, touched on the committee’s decision on social media, saying, “It’s an opt-in instead of opt-out: the doctor should initiate, and not all do. It usually leads to less uptake, partly because nobody is sure what it requires.”
Reiss went on to tell CNN, “It will create substantial confusion, and it will decrease uptake because of the confusion.”
What else did ACIP vote on?
The committee also voted on a proposition suggesting the CDC to amend its Covid-19 vaccine information statements which navigate the risks and benefits of a vaccination.1 The committee is aiming to add additional language in the vaccine’s statements including “at least six new risks and uncertainties,” with most being based on preliminary, and refuted scientific findings.1Despite the committee’svote, according to legal experts, ACIP does not hold the authority to alter the vaccine information statement.
ACIP also voted on recommending health care providers to be aware of known risk factors for Covid-19, including age, prior infections, immunosuppression, and comorbidities identified from the CDC, as a part of the informed consent.
Sources
- CDC advisers vote that patients must consult a health care provider for Covid-19 vaccination, but no prescription required CNN September 19, 2025 https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/19/health/cdc-acip-hepatitis-mmrv-covid-vaccine
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