Who advises the CDC on big COVID decisions and how’s that working out?

The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) always had a full schedule, but COVID-19 amped it up tremendously. Some public health policy observers wonder whether the increased responsibility meets the CDC’s needs and if the CDC pays enough attention to the committee. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine in the Department of Health Policy as well as professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, joined ACIP in 1982. He has deep insight on how the committee works as the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases’ liaison to ACIP. He joined BioWorld staff writer Lee Landenberger to talk about the committee and how it makes the big decisions that ultimately affect public health policy.