SHEA Affirms Trust in ACIP and Supports Science-Based Vaccine Policy

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology (SHEA) appreciates HHS’s focus on restoring public trust in vaccines and applaud any and all efforts to increase vaccine uptake in the United States to protect public health. However, we do not believe recent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) members were conflicted; rather, we have consistently observed through both our role as an advisory member of ACIP and as a professional medical society, that the committee’s recommendations were rooted in rigorous, evidence-based deliberations. SHEA has confidence in the integrity of ACIP’s conflict of interest policies and processes, which are designed to ensure transparency and uphold public trust in its decision-making. The ACIP has long served as a trusted body guiding national immunization policy. We are proud to have worked alongside them in advancing public health and encouraging a transparent and deliberative process of vaccination recommendations. We are deeply concerned that efforts to restructure or replace ACIP risk undermining a trusted, science-driven process that has long guided national immunization policy. We urge HHS to prioritize transparency, scientific rigor, and public health expertise as it considers these changes—and we remain committed to defending a strong, evidence-based immunization framework in the United States.