ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland has joined a group of states that are setting their own public health recommendations after changes at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding vaccine policies.
The coalition, called the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, includes Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. The group aims to set forth its own recommendations about vaccines and public health following concerns that the CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) would no longer adhere to vaccine guidelines set by medical societies.
ACIP voted last week to change childhood measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccine guidelines and delayed their vote on newborn hepatitis B vaccines indefinitely. They also considered making the vaccine prescription only before deciding to leave it to “individual decision-making.” These changes could affect access to vaccines and to insurance coverage, since insurers typically base their coverage on ACIP recommendations.
Evidence shows vaccines are both safe and effective. Claims about vaccines causing autism have also been thoroughly debunked. The collaborative will follow recommendations set forth by medical societies: the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP).
Maryland law says that insurers in the state must abide by ACIP guidelines prior to Dec. 31, 2024, when determining coverage, so changes that were made this year won’t affect coverage. There also is a standing order in place to clarify vaccine guidelines. Many Southern Maryland residents likely won’t experience the same loss of access or coverage as in other parts of the country.
Calvert County’s health officer, Dr. Nimfa Teneza-Mora, said that Maryland will continue following the recommendations as usual — even if the federal government chooses not to.
“The objective of the collaborative is to protect the people and base the recommendations on what’s been supported by scientific evidence,” Teneza-Mora said.
The collaborative, and Maryland law, is meant to “broaden access” to vaccines for those who want them, Teneza-Mora said. Southern Maryland residents will have access to vaccines as recommended by AAP, ACOG and AAFP and “some kind of insurance coverage.”
One concern for Teneza-Mora was the Southern Maryland residents who have federal government insurance plans. She said it was “unknown” how that would work with the new federal guidelines, and whether those insurers would cover the vaccines.
“We will work with them however we can,” Teneza-Mora said.
The CDC and ACIP have also long abided by recommendations from these organizations. Maryland and other Northeast states are simply continuing these longstanding evidence-based guidelines. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a known history of questioning the efficacy and safety of vaccines and has come under fire for promoting misinformation and using studies that are AI-generated or are simply false.
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