Court Ruling on Vaccine Schedule May Add to Confusion as Trust in Federal Recommendations Declines
A federal judge has blocked recent changes to the federal childhood vaccine schedule and suspended, for now, the appointments of some members of the advisory committee responsible for making vaccine recommendations. The lawsuit, brought by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other medical organizations, argued that changes to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ (ACIP’s) membership and decision-making process undermined the committee’s credibility and departed from established standards. The AAP also alleged that the committee relied on what it called “spurious evidence” to make its recommendations and suggested that committee members and speakers made inaccurate or misleading claims prior to votes. The ruling does not assess the merits of the changes to vaccine recommendations, instead focusing on whether federal procedures for appointing committee members and developing recommendations were followed. The administration has indicated it is weighing its legal options, including a potential appeal, meaning the dispute could continue, but AAP’s president has framed the decision as a win for science that would bring clarity to vaccine recommendations. A KFF Quick Take provides additional detail on the ruling and what may come next.
For parents, patients, and providers, the ruling and ongoing dispute may deepen existing confusion about which vaccine guidance to trust. KFF’s January Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trust found that among adults who had heard about the recent changes to the childhood vaccine schedule (51% of all adults), twice as many said the changes would have a negative impact on children’s health (54%) as said they would have a positive impact (26%). As of early March, 29 states and Washington, D.C. had announced they would no longer fully follow the new CDC childhood vaccine schedulecreating a patchwork of vaccine guidance that varies by state.
What To Watch Out For: How will the ruling, future actions by the administration, and the growing divide between guidance from federal agencies and professional medical organizations affect vaccine-related narratives and public trust?
Polling Insights: KFF’s January Tracking Poll on Health Information and Trustconducted shortly after changes to the federal vaccine schedule recommendations were announced, found that fewer than half of adults are confident in federal health agencies to make recommendations about childhood vaccines. Overall, just under half (44%) of adults said they have at least “some confidence” in federal health agencies to make recommendations about childhood vaccine schedules, including about half (51%) of Democrats and fewer than half of independents (45%) and Republicans (40%).
Beyond making recommendations for childhood vaccines, fewer than half of the public expressed confidence in these agencies to ensure vaccine safety and effectiveness (46%), make decisions based on science (38%), or act independently (34%). Across partisanship, fewer than half of Democrats, independents, and Republicans are confident in these agencies to act independently or make decisions based on science.
Public Trust Higher in CDC, NIH, FDA Scientists Than Federal Health Agency Leadership
Two-thirds of Americans (67%) are confident that career scientists at federal health agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are providing the public with trustworthy health information, compared to 43% who said the same of the leaders of those agencies, according to a new poll from the Annenberg Public Policy Center. This new poll gives additional context to KFF polling that has found declining public trust in agencies like the CDC and FDA since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
What To Watch Out For: The gap between trust in career scientists and trust in agency leadership may take on added significance as changes are made to the federal health workforce. The NIH, for example, has lost more than 20% of its workforce since the start of the Trump administration, according to federal data reported by KFF Health News. As thousands of career scientists leave, federal agencies may face additional challenges in maintaining capacity and public confidence.