A federal advisory committee reportedly wants sweeping changes to how the medical community tracks and treats injuries from COVID vaccines.
A confidential report prepared for the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices calls for new diagnostic standards and expanded research into potential long-term effects from the shots, The New York Times reported Sunday.
The work group's report — described as written "with a sense of urgency" — proposes establishing a formal diagnostic category for COVID vaccine injuries, creating clinical guidelines to help doctors recognize and treat them, and building a national research network to study long-term complications linked to the vaccines and the disease itself.
The report cites surveys suggesting many Americans remain concerned about vaccine-related harm.
One of those, a 2023 Rasmussen Reports survey titled "Killer Jab?," found nearly 1 in 4 Americans said they personally knew someone who died from side effects related to a COVID vaccine.
Thousands of people have reported symptoms they believe were triggered by vaccination, including neurological, cardiovascular, and immune-related problems, the Times reported.
Many say their concerns have been dismissed by federal agencies or attributed to psychosomatic causes, fueling distrust in public health institutions.
Under the proposal, doctors could diagnose a condition called post-acute COVID-19 vaccination syndrome, or PACVS, and use standardized medical codes to document and treat the illness.
Supporters argue the change would let insurers reimburse care and enable researchers to better track patterns of injury.
The committee may vote this week on several recommendations, including assigning a specific diagnostic code for vaccine injuries and urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop clinical guidelines for doctors treating patients with lingering symptoms.
The panel could also recommend that federal agencies such as the National Institutes of Health establish a research network dedicated to studying post-vaccine illnesses and long COVID.
Critics say the proposals overstate the evidence linking vaccines to long-term harm.
Dr. Sean O'Leary of the American Academy of Pediatrics told the Times the report selectively highlights weaker studies while ignoring broader research showing the vaccines' safety.
"It is straight out of the anti-vaccine handbook," O'Leary said.
The policy debate comes as federal officials walk a political tightrope on vaccine issues ahead of the midterm elections.
According to The Washington Post, the advisory panel recently backed away from a plan that could have rescinded federal recommendations for mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna, which remain the most widely used COVID shots.
Still, the federal government has begun placing greater emphasis on tracking potential vaccine harms.
The Food and Drug Administration recently announced a new centralized database that will collect reports of injuries linked to vaccines, foods, and supplements.
Public health experts acknowledge that even widely used vaccines can produce rare side effects.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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