Two new physicians who are skeptical of vaccines and antidepressants will be joining the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention‘s vaccine advisory panel, signaling coming changes in vaccine safety recommendations for pregnant women.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that he has named two new obstetricians and gynecologists on Tuesday, Drs. Adam Urato and Kimberly Biss, to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which makes recommendations for vaccines and plays a critical role in insurance coverage for vaccines.
ACIP has been Kennedy’s main vehicle for changes in vaccine policy since he dissolved the original board membership this spring and appointed all new members who were more in line with his skepticism of vaccines and shared his interest in linking them to autoimmune and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Kennedy’s choice to appoint the high-profile OB-GYNs is likely to influence any new recommendations from ACIP for pregnant women.
The CDC currently recommends that all pregnant women receive a Tdap vaccine, as well as RSV and flu shots, depending upon the season. ACIP updated its guidance on COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women to advise patient and physician decision-making rather than a definitive recommendation.
ACIP leaders said during their last meeting in December that they would be establishing an internal working group before the next meeting to possibly amend guidance on vaccines for pregnant women.
Urato, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist, has spent much of his career warning that SSRI antidepressant use in pregnancy affects fetal brain development and leads to higher rates of pregnancy complications, including preterm birth.
Urato was a panelist on the Food and Drug Administration’s forum in July on the proliferation and safety of SSRIs, and in September, he and his colleagues filed a citizen petition with the FDA to include a box warning on all SSRI medications to inform patients and providers about the risks of taking antidepressants during pregnancy.
Kennedy has also been deeply critical of SSRIs, saying they are harder to quit than heroin.
Although Urato’s stance on antidepressants during pregnancy is more well-known, he has also expressed concerns regarding the four vaccines recommended for women during pregnancy by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
In 2024, Urato posted on X that physicians do not know all of the adverse effects on a baby in utero from vaccines and that “women’s vax concerns should be acknowledged and their choices supported.”
Urato told the Washington Examiner via a social media message that he believes patients and the broader public ought to be “properly informed regarding risks, benefits, and alternatives.”
In contrast, Biss has been a staunch opponent of COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy, ACOG, and the pharmaceutical industry writ large.
In November 2023, Biss testified during former Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s hearing on COVID-19 vaccine injuries, saying miscarriage rates doubled in her south Florida OB-GYN practice and that the menstrual cycles of her patients changed due to the vaccine.
While there are conflicting studies on whether COVID-19 vaccines contribute to miscarriage rates, there have subsequently been multiple studies showing that COVID-19 vaccines do result in small but statistically significant changes in menstrual cycles, usually increasing period duration.
Biss has continued to be an outspoken advocate on social media regarding various speculated COVID-19 vaccine injuries, including Parkinson’s, infertility, and neurodevelopmental disorders in children exposed to COVID-19 in utero.
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“ACIP serves as Americans’ watchdog for vaccine safety and transparency,” Kennedy said in a press statement. “Dr. Urato and Dr. Biss bring the scientific credentials, clinical experience, and integrity this committee requires.”
The next ACIP meeting is scheduled for Feb. 25 and 26, according to the CDC website.
