How CDC is Making COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations

Hi, I'm doctor Amanda Cohn.

I'm a physician and a medical officer

in CDC's National Center for
Immunization and Respiratory Diseases

and currently serve
as the executive secretary

for the Advisory Committee
on Immunization Practices – or ACIP.

I'd like to share with you

how this devoted group of experts
develops recommendations

and advises CDC on the use
of vaccines in our country.

ACIP is dedicated to making evidence
and science based recommendations

to prevent and control
vaccine preventable diseases,

like COVID-19.

They are motivated
by their intention to save lives,

are free from political influence,
and ensure transparency

by holding all of their meetings
open to the public

and making them available online.

The committee is made up
of fifteen voting members,

who are medical and public health experts
from across the United States,

including one person
who represents the general public.

They review information about
the safety and effectiveness

of vaccines and clinical trial results,
and then vote to recommend

whether those vaccines
should be used in the United States

The committee also has
non-voting members,

such as representatives from
the American Nurses Association,

American Medical Association,
American Academy of Pediatrics,

and the American College of Physicians.

It's important to have these
individuals on the committee,

because they offer
the perspective of doctors, nurses,

and other healthcare providers,

who follow CDC's vaccine recommendations
and put them into practice.

A lot of effort has gone into
developing, studying, and authorizing

COVID-19 vaccines quickly,

to respond to the pandemic we are facing.

It is understandable that
you may be concerned

about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines,

given how quickly they
have been developed.

Despite this rapid pace,

COVID-19 vaccines go through
the same rigorous review process,

as all other vaccines,

before this committee votes
on whether to recommend them.

Vaccine safety is always the top priority,

and it is no different
for COVID-19 vaccines.

Since the beginning of the pandemic,

ACIP has met often,

to stay informed about COVID-19 vaccines.

After each COVID-19 vaccine is authorized

or approved for use in the United States,

ACIP will quickly meet
to review available data

from the rigorous studies
that vaccine manufacturers conducted,

to show that each vaccine meets
safety and effectiveness standards.

After discussion and public comment,

the committee will vote on whether or not
to recommend the vaccine,

and if so, who should receive it.

This is the same process
ACIP uses for all the vaccines.

The same process that has recommended
the safe and successful vaccines

that protect our communities

from diseases that once killed
hundreds of thousands each year.

It is my sincere hope

that hundreds of thousands
more lives will be saved

with safe vaccines for COVID-19.

However, no one tool alone
is going to stop the COVID-19 pandemic.

For now, your best protection will be a
combination of getting a COVID-19 vaccine,

when it is recommended for you,

and then continuing to cover
your nose and mouth with a mask,

stay at least six feet away from others,
and wash your hands often.

COVID-19 vaccines will be an important
tool to help stop this pandemic.

For more information,
go to CDC.gov/coronavirus