§48 —
On the flu shot
Democrat
ALL 17
Here is the sequence, with the dates, because the dates are the whole thing. On 9 June 2025 all seventeen then-sitting members of the immunization advisory committee were removed at once, and thirteen new members were appointed beginning that month 1. On 16 March 2026 a federal court in Massachusetts stayed those appointments, stayed the revised childhood immunization schedule, and stayed every vote the committee had taken since 11 June 2025 2.
That last clause is the part that reaches a pharmacy counter. This committee's recommendations are what insurers key coverage to — which vaccine is covered, for whom, at what cost. When the FDA's own advisers recommended the strain for the fall 2026-27 COVID vaccine in May, the next step was the coverage recommendation, and with no functioning committee that step did not happen 2. So the flu advice is unchanged and correct and you should go get the shot. Seventeen people were removed in one morning to restore trust in the process, a court has since paused the replacements, and the question of who pays for the needle is now a live one going into a flu season that starts today.
Sources
- All 17 sitting members of the immunization advisory committee were removed on 9 June 2025; 13 new members were appointed beginning that month — CIDRAP, University of Minnesota ↑
- In American Academy of Pediatrics v. Kennedy the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts stayed, on 16 March 2026, the revised 2026 childhood immunization schedule, the 13 appointments made from June 2025, and all committee votes after 11 June 2025; with no functioning committee the coverage recommendation following the FDA advisers' 28 May 2026 strain vote did not occur — Georgetown Center for Children and Families, 31 March 2026 ↑
Republican
TRUST
The stated case for the change was trust, and it should be taken at its word before it is taken apart. The department's position was that reconstituting the advisory committee would restore public confidence in vaccines 1. The committee did, at its reconstituted meeting, reaffirm routine annual influenza vaccination for everyone six months and older with no contraindication — the same recommendation as before 2. It also voted to discontinue flu vaccines containing thimerosal 2.
So on the flu specifically, the advice that came out the other side is the advice that went in. That is worth stating plainly, because it is the strongest thing this side has: the panel changed and the flu recommendation did not. If the argument is that new people asking old questions arrive at the same answer, then the answer is better established than it was, and everyone should be pleased. The difficulty is only with what happened next, which is not a question of anybody's motives.
Sources
- The department's stated rationale for reconstituting the advisory committee was restoring public trust in vaccines — HHS ↑
- The reconstituted committee reaffirmed routine annual influenza vaccination for all persons six months and older without contraindications, and voted to discontinue flu vaccines containing thimerosal — Congressional Research Service, Changes to CDC Vaccine Recommendations in 2025 and 2026 ↑
“The flu shot. Simple story, I thought. The recommendation is unchanged: everybody six months and older, no contraindications, same as it's been. Then I look at who issues it. On June ninth of last year all seventeen sitting members of that committee were removed at once. Thirteen new ones were named. Then in March a federal court stayed the appointments and every vote the committee took after June eleventh. Sorry, one thing before you go. That committee's recommendation is the thing insurers key their coverage to. So the advice is the same as last year, and the machine that makes the advice mean anything is under a court order. Where does that leave the co-pay?”— Lou
“Flu season opens today and the advice hasn't changed — six months and up, same as every year, the science didn't move. What moved was the committee. All seventeen of them, out the door in a single day in June of last year. Then a federal judge put the replacements on hold. So the shot is recommended by a body that a court has paused. You can still go get it. Just don't ask anybody in the building who's paying.”
“The committee was reconstituted to restore public trust, and I'd point out that a court staying something is a normal part of the process working, and the flu shot is available at any pharmacy, so I'm not sure what the complaint is supposed to be.”