Ali Rogin:
Amna, many experts call the movement unprecedented. As a rule, the CDC makes recommendations on which should be vaccinated and when based on the advice of an expert advisory committee. But it is not clear if they were consulted before the announcement.
Dr. Richard Besser, former interim director of the CDC and now CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
And we must note that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a funder for “News Hour”.
Dr Beser, thank you very much for being here.
I want to take these two categories in turn. First, pregnant women, there are many public health experts who express their concern that they should absolutely get the vaccine to protect not only themselves, but also their infants. What are the concerns there?
Dr. Richard Besser, former interim director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Yes, please have done me, Ali.
It is very worrying. I am a general pediatrician. I practiced for over 30 years. And one of the wonderful things about vaccinations in pregnant women is not only protects them, but it offers protective factors to their babies, who often cannot be vaccinated against many infectious diseases during this first year of life.
And so these factors will not be found on the babies of mothers who will now be denied access to this vaccine. And the American College of Ob -Gyn – it is the body of experts who are – who are obstetricians and gynecologists – have raised concerns about this recommendation.
And a great concern for me is that the ad has not provided thought behind. He did not provide the data. And that’s what we lose, it is this ability to really understand the decision.