CDC Updates Vaccine Recommendations

Summary

What CDC knows

Vaccines are an effective tool for protecting Americans against the most severe effects of many infectious diseases. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is an advisory panel made up of external experts who advise CDC on the use of vaccines for the prevention of infectious diseases. ACIP met June 26-28 and voted unanimously on several recommendations.

What CDC is doing

The CDC director adopted all the vaccine recommendations that ACIP voted on. These are now official CDC public health guidance for the safe use of the vaccines in the United States and will be published as official recommendations in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). CDC will communicate these recommendations to the public, healthcare providers, and public health professionals to ensure everyone has the information needed to protect their health from vaccine-preventable diseases.

CDC Issues Updated Vaccine Recommendations for COVID-19 and Other Diseases after Expert Panel Votes

CDC relies on an external advisory panel of medical experts to make recommendations that shape policy for vaccine-preventable infectious diseases in the United States.

The group, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), typically meets in Atlanta at least three times a year. ACIP’s decisions on vaccines are important. The CDC director reviews each decision and they become official agency policy once adopted, helping protect the health of all Americans.

At its most recent meeting June 26-28, 2024, ACIP reviewed data on disease burden and vaccine effectiveness and safety, among other data. ACIP voted on vaccine recommendations for the upcoming respiratory virus season, as well as for recommendations for vaccines to protect against some bacterial diseases. The following decisions have now been adopted by the CDC director.

Simpler recommendations on RSV vaccines for older adults

ACIP offered clearer guidance around the use of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines for older adults. RSV vaccines for older adults became available for the first time in the United States last year.

Older adults are at higher risk of developing severe RSV. The initial recommendations called for adults 60 years and older to receive one dose of the RSV vaccine based on shared clinical decision making, that is, a conversation between patient and healthcare provider about whether the shot was appropriate for them based on their health conditions. In the context of new data that are now available on RSV vaccines for older adults, the recommendations were updated to be more specific and streamlined.

The updated RSV vaccine recommendations for adults 60 years and older are age- and risk-based. ACIP now recommends all adults 75 years of age and older receive a single dose of RSV vaccine. Adults 60 to 74 years of age should get a single dose of RSV vaccine if they are at increased risk of severe RSV disease. Adults ages 60 to 74 are at higher risk if they have certain chronic medical conditions, such as lung or heart disease, or if they live in a nursing home or long-term care facility.

RSV vaccination is currently recommended as a one-time dose. If you have already received RSV vaccination, another dose is not recommended for you at this time.

RSV immunization recommendations to protect infants, either through maternal vaccination or RSV antibody given to the baby after birth, stayed the same. CDC continues to recommend RSV immunizations to protect all babies from severe RSV.

An updated COVID-19 vaccine for the fall

Data continue to show the importance of vaccination to protect against COVID-19. ACIP recommends new 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines as authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for everyone 6 months of age and older. FDA recently recommended that vaccine manufacturers use the KP.2 variant of the JN.1 lineage, if feasible, for fall vaccines, to more closely match circulating variants. This recommendation will take effect as soon as the new vaccines are available, which is anticipated in early September.

New influenza vaccine guidance for organ transplant recipients

ACIP reaffirmed its recommendation for routine annual influenza vaccination of all people ages 6 months and older who do not have contraindications. Updated 2024-2025 flu vaccines will all be trivalent and will protect against an A(H1N1), an A(H3N2), and a B/Victoria lineage virus.

For solid organ transplant recipients aged 18 through 64 years who are taking immunosuppressive medication regimens, ACIP now recommends high-dose (HD-IIV3) and adjuvanted (aIIV3) inactivated influenza vaccines as acceptable options for influenza vaccination, without a preference over other age-appropriate inactivated or recombinant influenza vaccines.

A new vaccine for pneumococcal disease

As for pneumococcal disease, ACIP recommends a new vaccine that provides protection against serotypes of the bacteria that commonly cause disease in adults. A new 21-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV21) is now an option for adults ages 19 years and older who currently have a recommendation to receive a dose of PCV.

PCV21 includes eight new pneumococcal serotypes that are not contained in currently available pneumococcal vaccines. It no longer includes certain serotypes that used to be common before the introduction of PCV but are now infrequent among the general adult population.

The recommendation for the new vaccine comes at a time when an increase in the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease in the United States has been reported after reduction in incidence early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hib vaccine recommended for American Indian and Alaska Native infants

Invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) disease is a rare but serious bacterial infection that disproportionally affects American Indian and Alaska Native infants. Until now, PedvaxHIB was the only Hib vaccine preferentially recommended over other Hib vaccine options for these infants because it provides a protective antibody response after the first dose.

ACIP voted to recommend that Vaxelis be included in the preferential recommendation for American Indian and Alaska Native infants based on the Hib component. New immunogenicity data after the first dose of Vaxelis are available now and supported the recommendation.

For more information on what was discussed and voted on at the ACIP meeting, click here.