Tell the CDC: We Need Immediate Universal Access to COVID Vaccines and Broad Access to All Vaccines

COVID vaccine access is in jeopardy; public comment to CDC ACIP vaccine committee opens today 9/2 and closes 9/13 at 11:59pm EDT

COVID vaccine access is in jeopardy. If updated COVID vaccines are not available (or are not available without a prescription) in your state or you haven’t been able to get one, you are not alone–no one I know has gotten one yet. Much of the holdup is due the lack of a recommendation for the 2025-2026 COVID vaccines by CDC’s vaccine committee, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), whose membership was recently replaced by people connected with anti-vaccine groups. We are now facing delayed access to updated COVID vaccines, unscientific restrictions to vaccine access, and possible additional actions by CDC ACIP to restrict COVID vaccine access further.

Please join me in taking action to oppose these ongoing antivax attacks against COVID vaccines and other vaccines by making public comments to the CDC. CDC ACIP is meeting September 18-19 and will discuss COVID vaccines along with others including Hepatitis B, MMRV, and RSV vaccines.

CDC Vaccine Public Comment Information

Public comment for the September 18-19 CDC ACIP meeting opens today September 2, and closes September 13. You can register to make an oral comment via video conferencing at the meeting, or submit a written comment. Oral comment registration and written comment submissions are open September 2 through September 13.

View the docket here: https://www.regulations.gov/document/CDC-2025-0454-0001

You may also register to make an oral comment at the meeting (via online teleconferencing) by filling out the oral comment form: https://www2.cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/acip_publiccomment.asp All fields are required. If you are not affiliated with an organization, you can write “Self” or “Not Affiliated" in the organization field. You should receive a confirmation email after registering. If you are selected for oral comment, you should receive an email by September 16, and a response will generally be required to confirm your spot.

See the CDC’s ACIP meeting page for additional meeting details: https://www.cdc.gov/acip/meetings/index.html

Talking Points for Vaccine Access

Below are some key talking points for your comment, and a sample comment is below the divider. Please feel free to copy, modify, and share any of the text for your own advocacy.

1. We need immediate, universal access to the updated COVID vaccines for people of all ages, and regardless of medical conditions, at least once a year.

2. A strong recommendation from the CDC ACIP committee is needed for insurance coverage, Vaccines for Children coverage, and state vaccine program coverage. Prescriptions must not be required for COVID vaccination.

3. CDC ACIP expert advisors must take action to support widespread and unhindered access to a wide range of safe and effective vaccines to protect people of all ages in the US, including Hepatitis B, RSV, and MMR/MMRV vaccines.

You should also include brief comments about why vaccination matters to you personally, such as how vaccination for a broad range of infectious diseases has positively impacted you and your community. Optionally, at the beginning of your comment, you may also include whether or not you have any financial conflicts of interest relevant to the topic. Don’t worry about making your comment perfect or polished–your perspective matters, and this committee needs to hear how their attacks on vaccine access are impacting all of us.

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Sample Comment for COVID Vaccine Access

Docket: CDC-2025-0454

September 2, 2025

Public Comment for the September 18-19, 2025, CDC ACIP Committee Meeting

To the CDC ACIP committee:

I have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

We need immediate, universal access to updated COVID vaccines. Any barriers to vaccination are unacceptable. Prescriptions must not be required to get a COVID vaccine, as the science continues to be clear that all people benefit from our safe and effective COVID vaccines. Shared clinical decision-making and other equivocal approaches are inadequate. Most people in the US do not have easy access to a doctor who could write them a prescription so they could access the vaccine within the next few weeks.

All of us must have regular access to updated COVID vaccines, which must be made available widely and must be covered by health insurance. The scientific evidence is clear: COVID vaccination within the last year reduces the risk of symptoms, severe disease, disability, and death for people of all ages, including previously healthy people, pregnant people, and children [1-7]. Unscientific restrictions create a de facto COVID vaccine ban through barriers to access as well as by sowing uncertainty and doubt about COVID vaccines. You must take action to reinstate strong, unhindered universal COVID vaccine recommendations for people of all ages, at least once a year, for all COVID vaccine formulations.

This committee must recommend all safe and effective vaccines to ensure broad access at pharmacies, insurance coverage, and coverage for uninsured children through the Vaccines for Children program. Hepatitis B, MMR, MMRV, RSV, and other vaccines are essential to prevent unnecessary infections, harmful consequences of infections, and deaths of both children and adults. Children should not die because of a lack of access to affordable vaccines. We need everyone at the CDC including all members of this committee to rally behind strengthening vaccination campaigns to boost vaccination rates and stop the unnecessary tragedy of preventable infections in our communities.

References

1. Link-Gelles R, Chickery S, Webber A, et al. Interim Estimates of 2024–2025 COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Among Adults Aged ≥18 Years — VISION and IVY Networks, September 2024–January 2025. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2025;74. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7406a1

2. Fang Z, Ahrnsbrak R, Rekito A. Evidence Mounts That About 7% of US Adults Have Had Long COVID. JAMA. Published online June 7, 2024. doi:10.1001/jama.2024.11370

3. Yousaf AR. Notes from the Field: Surveillance for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children — United States, 2023. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2024;73. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7310a2

4. Link-Gelles R. Effectiveness of COVID-19 (2023-2024 Formula) vaccines. Presented at: FDA VRBPAC Meeting; June 5, 2024. Accessed June 12, 2024. https://www.fda.gov/media/179140/download

5. Link-Gelles R. Updates to COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness. Published online May 2025. Accessed September 2, 2025. https://www.fda.gov/media/186593/download

6. Wu N, Joyal-Desmarais K, Vieira AM, et al. COVID-19 boosters versus primary series: update to a living review. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. 2023;11(10):e87-e88. doi:10.1016/S2213-2600(23)00265-5

7. Menegale F, Manica M, Zardini A, et al. Evaluation of Waning of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine–Induced Immunity: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(5):e2310650. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.10650

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After you’ve submitted your comments to the CDC, I would recommend also writing or calling your members of congress to demand immediate access to updated COVID vaccines. More info, instructions, and a template you can use and modify are available in my previous post highlighted below.

Thank you for taking action to support vaccine access. 😷