Adds details about recommendations in paragraphs 2, 3 and 5, background throughout
July 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has accepted recommendations made by a panel of vaccine experts in April, months before they were abruptly fired by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.
The CDC adopted the panel's recommendations for the use of vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus and meningococcal disease, a serious bacterial infection, on June 25, the agency's website showed on Wednesday.
The agency now recommends that adults aged between 50 and 59 years who are at an increased risk of severe illness from the RSV virus receive a single dose of RSV vaccine. The CDC previously recommended the vaccine only for adults aged 75 and older and at-risk adults aged 60 to 74.
The recommendations made by the panel, known as the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, were accepted by Kennedy in the absence of the director of the agency, who typically signs off on the panel's recommendations before they are implemented. President Donald Trump's nomination for the CDC director, Susan Monarez, is yet to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
The agency also recommended the use of GSK's GSK.L pentavalent meningococcal vaccine in healthy persons aged 16–23 years and at-risk individuals aged 10 years and older.
The CDC had accepted the panel's recommendations on vaccines for chikungunya, a mosquitoe-borne virus, in May.
The agency's recommendations will assist physicians in choosing appropriate vaccines for patients and will also guide insurance coverage policies in the United States.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved three vaccines for RSV — GSK's GSK.L Arexvy, Moderna's MRNA.O mRESVIA and Pfizer's PFE.N Abrysvo.
A newly revamped ACIP panel picked by Kennedy met in June and recommended Americans receive seasonal influenza shots that are free from the mercury-based preservative thimerosal despite decades of studies showing no related safety issues.
The new panel is also set to study the schedule of childhood and adolescent immunizations and review the use of older vaccines.
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Maju Samuel)
((Mariam.ESunny@thomsonreuters.com;))
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