The federal committee that advises the Department of Health and Human Services on vaccine policy is now operating under a charter that directs it to examine what people might do instead of getting vaccinated. The document carries a filing date of July 7, 2026, and was posted on the HHS website without an announcement, a sequence first flagged in reporting by STAT.
The current charter for the National Vaccine Advisory Committee states that the program and the committee should consider and coordinate with broader communicable disease authorities, including non-immunization strategies for individuals who are unable to be vaccinated or who choose not to be vaccinated due to medical contraindications or strongly held personal, conscientious, or religious beliefs.
