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Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s revamped government panel of outside vaccine advisors on Thursday recommended the use of Merck
’s shot to protect infants from respiratory syncytial virus, a temporary reprieve for public health officials and companies concerned about the Health and Human Services secretary’s immunization policy.
The group, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, also voted unanimously to include Merck’s shot in the government’s list of recommended childhood immunizations that receive wide insurance coverage.
The votes in favor of the injectable antibody, Enflonsia, are a sigh of relief for drugmakers and the medical community after Kennedy earlier this month gutted the panel and tapped replacements, some of whom are well-known vaccine critics.
