Vaccines – They Still Work
It wouldn’t be a great revelation for me to say that, in the last few years, vaccines have become (excuse my phraseology) a breeding ground for controversy. The number of Americans that choose to opt out of being vaccinated, for them and/or their children, has risen significantly. In the last five years the vaccination rates in most states have dropped below the 95% required for herd immunity. While each state controls the requirements for opting out of vaccines for children, the national rate for receiving the MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine for children sits at 92.5%, which some experts say explains the outbreak of measles in various states. The MMR vaccine hasn’t lost its ability to protect us . . . it seems we’re questioning our faith in the institutions that control the safety and recommendations of vaccines.
As the nation confronted the COVID pandemic, vaccines saved more than 2 million lives worldwide, but the unprecedented speed and process of their development sparked debate and concern. In the last general election, it was a discussion point in many political debates and was the source of marked disagreements. These types of divisive discussions just seem to further erode our faith in the government’s vaccine recommendations.
A little background, our government has used public facing forums, advisory committees, as they both approve and develop recommendations for medicines. At the FDA, as they consider approving different medicines, including vaccines, they use public advisory committees to review and advise on the medicine under review. These committees are made up of around 15 people, outside of the agency, who are experts in the medical area of the medicine under review. The group responsible for vaccines at the FDA is the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. This committee, as do all the various advisory committees, allows for public comments, both written and oral. I’ve always thought this transparency was important.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also uses advisory committees as they consider recommendations for the administration and control of medicines. Their committee for advising on immunization recommendations is the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). This committee has seen big changes in membership and the current group has made some controversial decisions, with their latest vaccine recommendation for children coming under fire by the American Academy of Pediatrics. The organization sued HHS over the committee’s rulings and the ACIP personal changes. Ultimately, the judge ruled that the 13 members recently appointed had not been lawfully installed, and all their decisions made since May 2025 were put on hold. This has only added to the uncertainty and controversy.
Over the years, as a leader of senior advocacy groups, I’ve testified multiple times at the public forums at both the FDA and the CDC. While my testimony sometimes dealt with issues the committee might not have considered or stances I disagreed with, at times I also voiced my organization’s approval. Through it all, I always thought these advisory committees were extremely important. These are experts on the issues being discussed, not politically motivated, and the agency involved paid close attention to their recommendations. Be that as it may, I’m not going to focus on whether the appointment of the new members of the ACIP was appropriate or whether their decisions were correct. What I’m going to focus on the idea that all this debate and distrust can obscure a simple truth: vaccines WORK. The ongoing disagreement only deepens skepticism and erodes confidence in these institutions and, in the case of the CDC, translates into less trust in their recommendations and, sadly, could transfer to a distrust of vaccines. This is what worries me.
Vaccines have saved lives and altered history. Many historians credit George Washington’s decision to vaccinate his armies against smallpox with winning the Revolutionary War. We’ve eradicated polio and, until recently, almost eliminated measles. For older Americans, the flu vaccine saves thousands of lives each year. Estimates show 67% of us get the flu shot each year, which is below the public agencies goal of 75%, but does save lives. In contrast only 40% of seniors got the most recent COVID booster. During the pandemic older people had the highest rate of vaccinations, we realized that we were the most vulnerable age group. Many of us still got the disease but our symptoms were greatly reduced. In my case, light symptoms only lasted 12 hours. Something has changed to cause us to shy away from the latest COVID boosters. The years of scientific study of mRNA resulted in the central scientific breakthrough that produced the COVID vaccine, and this unique approach has opened the doors to solutions in other diseases. It would be a shame if people’s distrust of vaccines limited the number of people that will take part in some of these groundbreaking discoveries.
This turmoil could also cause businesses to reevaluate their investments in their funding of research into new vaccines. When the members of the ACIP make wholesale changes, and even worse when their recommendations can’t be counted on to be followed or might be legally invalidated, it raises red flags for investors. Unpredictability is the enemy of business.
Our leaders need to somehow return to listening to the science, our government needs to be transparent in their decisions, we need to ensure that the members of these advisory committees are trusted evaluators who rely on their scientific background to deliver unbiased recommendations. It will take time and effort to regain the people’s trust in our government when it comes to healthcare, but it is critical to our long-term health.
Best, Thair