US vaccine policy in limbo as ACIP standoff delays shots
Kennedy's sweeping changes halted by court, but failure to reconstitute the committee leaves insurers without a trigger to cover new vaccines, experts say.
Health experts and patients say US vaccine policy is in a state of limbo after Robert F Kennedy Jr's overhaul of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was halted by a judge but replaced with nothing. Without a functioning committee, newly approved vaccines lack the recommendation insurers need to mandate coverage. Ron Kroening, a retired Oklahoma public health employee, was charged a $40 co-pay for a new mRNA flu shot that his doctor recommended because of this gap. 'I figured that was an error because I've never had to pay for a flu shot in my life,' he told the Guardian.