Governor Josh Shapiro and top Pennsylvania officials are calling on U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to act swiftly on vaccine recommendations to protect families and support the state’s growing biomedical economy.
Ahead of today’s meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), Shapiro, Secretary of Health Dr. Debra Bogen, and Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphreys urged the committee to recommend a set of critical vaccines — and pressed federal officials to approve them without delay.
The Shapiro Administration warned that failing to recommend or removing existing vaccines from the national immunization schedule could endanger public health and have wide-ranging economic impacts. Delays could make it harder for Pennsylvanians to access routine immunizations, particularly for children as flu season approaches.
Pennsylvania plays a major role in the U.S. vaccine supply chain. Global pharmaceutical companies like GlaxoSmithKline and Merck operate large manufacturing and research hubs across the state. GSK’s Marietta facility alone provides about one in four vaccines administered nationally. The company is planning an \$800 million expansion, with support from the Shapiro administration, that could add at least 200 new jobs and retain more than 4,600.
Delays in updating federal vaccine standards could disrupt these companies’ operations, raise compliance costs, and weaken Pennsylvania’s appeal for biotech investment.
The state also raised concerns about access. Without timely federal approval, insurers may stop covering certain vaccines as preventive care. This could result in higher out-of-pocket costs, especially for low-income families, leading to delayed or skipped immunizations and increasing pressure on the public health system.
Source: www.pa.gov