Family Vaccine Protection Act

Writes the vaccine advisory panel into law — CDC must follow its advice unless the science says otherwise.

More about this bill

The panel that decides which vaccines your health plan must cover would be written into federal law. It is the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Its list also sets which free shots children get through the Vaccines for Children program. That program serves kids on Medicaid, kids without insurance, and American Indian children. Today the health secretary sets up the panel under a general power to create advisory groups. Under this bill, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) must adopt the panel's advice. The only way out is to find that the best science does not back it. If the CDC or the health secretary goes against the panel, they must post their reasons. They must also tell Congress within 48 hours. The panel would have to meet at least 3 times a year, and its meetings would be open to the public. When a new vaccine is approved, the panel must take it up at its next regular meeting. It must make a call on its use within 90 days after the vaccine maker tells it. The health secretary would pick 15 to 19 voting members from experts suggested by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Members serve 4-year terms, and the chair serves 7 years. Six federal health agency heads sit in without a vote. They can be given a vote if too few members are able to vote. Doctor, nurse, public health, insurer, and drug industry groups may send liaisons who cannot vote. The bill allows up to $2.8 million a year for the panel from 2026 through 2029. The bill also changes the program that pays people hurt by covered vaccines. Any change to that program's list of vaccines and injuries would need the best available science behind it. That covers taking a vaccine off the list. It also covers adding injuries that can be paid. The health secretary could still add new vaccines to the list.