Experts appointed by Donald Trump's health secretary, and widely criticized, questioned the effectiveness and safety of Covid-19 vaccines on Friday, explicitly refusing to recommend them.
At a highly politicized meeting, the committee, which is responsible for issuing national vaccine recommendations, accused pharmaceutical companies of "lack of rigor" and urged better communication about the risks associated with vaccination.
"What we saw today about Covid-19 vaccines was about myths," not science, said Sean O'Leary, an infectious disease and pediatrics specialist.
"For me, these were clear efforts to fuel suspicion about vaccines" and "fuel fear," he told AFP.
Recently reshuffled by vaccine-sceptic Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) began this week to reevaluate recommendations for several vaccines, including those against Covid-19, sparking serious concern among the scientific and medical community.
– Resumption of cases –
After changing its measles prevention recommendations on Thursday, its members had considered recommending that Covid-19 vaccines be administered only by prescription, which would have severely limited access.
Faced with strong opposition from doctors and pharmacists, they backed down, but stopped short of explicitly recommending vaccines, instead urging Americans to discuss them with their doctor or pharmacist.
Several specialists had intervened in advance to express their concern about the seriousness and intentions of the committee, which now includes figures close to the anti-vax movement.
"Data are being used selectively to justify very specific conclusions," worried Sandra Fryhofer of the American Medical Association.
Other health care providers had warned that without clear incentives, some health insurance companies might decide to no longer cover these injections, which can cost several hundred dollars in the United States.
This comes as the country is seeing a resurgence in Covid-19 cases and associated hospitalizations, particularly among children, according to data released Friday by the CDC, the country's main health agency.
– Political division –
Since the start of the pandemic and the accompanying spike in misinformation, the country's vaccination rates have declined, raising fears of a resurgence of other diseases such as measles. It caused three deaths in 2025, a situation not seen in more than 30 years.
And the country's health situation could continue to deteriorate, according to several medical institutions, which accuse Minister Robert Kennedy Jr. of adding fuel to the fire.
The minister has regularly questioned the safety of vaccines and initiated a major overhaul of American health agencies.
Considering that the reliability of these latter is now compromised, several Democratic states have recently decided to publish their own vaccination recommendations or have put in place measures to protect access to vaccines.
At the same time, Florida, a conservative state, has announced that it wants to remove all current vaccination requirements, raising fears of a breakdown in vaccination guidelines across the country and a real health headache.
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