The vaccine advisory group ACIP, not all members of which seemed to know what the group does, recommended to the CDC that combined MMRV shots not be given before age 4. A federal vaccine advisory committee made of members hand-picked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recommended in an 8-3 vote on Thursday that the combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccine should not be given before age four, citing long-known evidence that shows a slightly increased risk for febrile seizures in that age group. Experts say that while frightening, febrile seizures--which are uncommon after vaccination--are usually short-lived and harmless, and removing the option for parents could cause a decline in immunization rates against measles, mumps, and rubella, some of the most dangerous childhood diseases. Known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, the group provides recommendations to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine usage. These recommendations are typically adopted by CDC and have an impact on state vaccine requirements for school, insurance coverage of vaccines, and pharmacy access--something at least one member of the panel seemed to be unaware of. Thursday's vote is part of a new shift in vaccine policy being spearheaded by Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist.

Peter Hotez deceives New York Times readers about the odds of dying from measles in the US to persuade parents to comply with the CDC's vaccine schedule. On January 9, the New York Times published an article written by Dr. Peter J. Hotez titled "You Are Unvaccinated and Got Sick. His purpose in writing is to persuade parents to vaccinate their children according to the routine schedule recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To that end, he purports to compare "the dangerous effects of three diseases with the minimal side effects of their corresponding vaccines." "To state it bluntly," Hotez writes, "being unvaccinated can result in illness or death. Vaccines, in contrast, are extremely unlikely to lead to side effects, even minor ones like fainting." He laments that "vaccination rates have fallen", resulting in a resurgence of measles globally. He cites the example of Samoa, where "almost 5,700 measles cases have been recorded since September, resulting in at least 83 deaths. Almost all of those who died were young children." In the US, he writes, "vaccine hesitancy is contributing to" measles outbreaks. Hotez presents data ostensibly to enable parents "to compare the risks of becoming ill with measles . . . to the minute chances of experiencing side effects from their corresponding vaccines." Hotez goes on to assert, "Moreover, new research reveals that, even when patients recover, the measles virus can suppress the immune system, rendering children susceptible to serious infections like pneumonia and the flu." "misinformation spread after an article implying a link between measles vaccinations and autism was published in The Lancet in 1998; it was retracted in 2010 over concerns about the validity of the results and the conduct of the study.