H.R. 87: Protecting Our Children from the CDC Act

This bill, titled the "Protecting Our Children from the CDC Act," aims to amend existing public health regulations regarding the inclusion of COVID-19 vaccines in the immunization schedule for children and adolescents. The key provisions of the bill are summarized below:

Prohibition on Inclusion of COVID-19 Vaccines

The bill states that the Secretary of Health and Human Services, along with any related officials or agencies (including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC), cannot add any COVID-19 vaccines to the immunization schedule for children and adolescents unless certain conditions are met.

Requirement for Posting Clinical Data

Before a COVID-19 vaccine can be included in the immunization schedule, the Secretary must publicly post all clinical data pertaining to the vaccine's safety and efficacy on the CDC's website. This data must include:

• Safety information
• Efficacy data
• Record of any adverse effects

All information must be deidentified to protect individuals' health information and to keep details about the agency and sponsor personnel confidential.

Effect on Current Vaccines

As soon as this bill is enacted:

• Any currently existing COVID-19 vaccines that are already included in the child and adolescent immunization schedule will be removed.
• The Secretary will be required to take necessary actions to ensure these vaccines are removed from the schedule.

This removal does not prevent the Secretary or related officials from re-including a COVID-19 vaccine in the schedule in the future, so long as the re-inclusion follows the same requirements laid out in the bill.

Definition of Immunization Schedule

The bill specifies that "child and adolescent immunization schedule" refers to the schedule created by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices or any future equivalent schedule.

Implications

This legislation focuses on how vaccines are evaluated and included in children's immunization schedules, emphasizing transparency and public access to clinical data before new vaccines are mandated for children.

Relevant Companies

• MRNA (Moderna, Inc.) - Potentially impacted as the company produces COVID-19 vaccines that may need to meet the new data transparency requirements.
• PFE (Pfizer Inc.) - Could be significantly impacted by this bill as their COVID-19 vaccine is part of the current immunization schedule for children.
• JNJ (Johnson & Johnson) - May face requirements under the bill concerning its COVID-19 vaccine's inclusion in immunization schedules.