Articles

Share your comments with HHS about vaccine schedules (Executive Order 14420)

Washington, D.C., update

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a request for information in August to evaluate current federal vaccine recommendation categories and is accepting public comments until Sept. 20. The RFI follows Executive Order 14420, released Aug. 10, that advises, without evidence, changing the current childhood vaccine schedule into multiple tiers. Abrupt changes in vaccine recommendations in the absence of clear scientific data create confusion and doubt in the public, patients, families and clinicians and ultimately undermine vaccine access and uptake.

What you can do

Use this alert to submit comments to HHS, highlighting that categories of vaccines should be based on scientific evidence and not give an untrue impression that some vaccines are more safe, effective or beneficial than others unless that is actually borne out by data. We encourage you to personalize your comments, if possible, with examples of how confusion about vaccine recommendations harms your patients and your community.

Take action

Why it matters

Every comment submitted to HHS helps build the official administrative record, which is important for legal challenges to the Administration’s actions on vaccines, and a high number of comments helps demonstrate that the agency’s actions are in direct conflict with scientific evidence and medical expertise. Comments also help educate the public about the importance of vaccines and how the Administration’s actions are endangering our health.

For more information about the Aug. 10 executive order, see IDSA’s statement and the statement that more than 210 leading medical, health and patient advocacy groups, including IDSA and HIVMA, joined in opposing the order.