Dr. Bloom takes a shot at CDC s public hearings on vaccine approval

By ACSH Staff — Jul 21, 2011

In a new National Review Online op-ed, ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom takes issue with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention s (CDC) unprecedented decision to conduct a national four-city listening tour to garner the public s opinion on whether the agency should include a recently FDA-approved bacterial meningitis vaccine for infants as young as nine months as part of their schedule of recommended vaccines. If added to the immunization roster, virtually all insurance policies would have to cover the cost of the shot. But Dr. Bloom asks an important question: Since when does the general public have the medical expertise required to evaluate the risks or benefits of a new vaccine?

He adds:

The mere fact that the CDC is delaying an addition to the children s schedule of new vaccines, pending public input, has raised concerns within the medical community...disturbing signs indicate that this is a new tactic designed to control health-care costs by suddenly adding a cost-effectiveness component to the normal decision making procedure.

There are other potential consequences of these public hearings. Inevitably, they will provide a forum for anti-vaccine zealots to continue to promote their irresponsible and thoroughly disproven claims that autism is connected to vaccination.