Washington Post Reports ACIP Panel May Move Away From COVID-19 Vaccine Restrictions, Citing Anonymous Sources

The Washington Post has reported that, according to two anonymous sources, the ACIP vaccine advisory committee is backing away from an “attack” against COVID-19 vaccines. The panel is scheduled to hold its next two-day meeting on March 18 and 19 to discuss COVID-19 vaccine injuries and long COVID.

The Post said the panel was considering removing the recommendation for the COVID-19 vaccine entirely, which could affect insurance coverage. They point to a December poll by Tony Fabrizio and Bob Ward that shows broad support for the childhood-recommended vaccines, even among MAHA-aligned voters in the 35 most competitive Congressional districts.

There has been no official statement from the CDC or ACIP regarding the recent reporting by The Washington Post. Recent reporting has also identified significant drops in vaccine sales across the board, especially for COVID-19 vaccines. CDC data shows only 17% of adults and 9% of children received the 2025/2026 COVID-19 vaccine, and Pfizer reported a 25% drop in COVID-19 vaccine sales following the recommendation changes by the CDC last fall.

A Rasmussen poll from November revealed that 46% of respondents believe that COVID-19 vaccine side effects caused a significant number of unexplained deaths. 10% of respondents had “major side effects” from the vaccine, while another 26% reported minor side effects.

The Post said members of the advisory panel have raised “a debunked theory that DNA contaminants in the vaccine were harmful.” The Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) issued a FOIA request to the CDC seeking any evidence supporting its previous assertion that DNA integration is not biologically plausible. In February 2025, the agency said it could not locate any relevant records, but added that “subject matter experts” have informed them that it is “not biologically possible for the vaccines to change or interact with an individual’s DNA.”

The two subject matter experts, Dr. John Su and Kierra Ross, both conducted searches and found no relevant documents. Dr. Su wrote that the request involves documentation of molecular and/or atomic forces, which falls outside the scope of the Immunization Safety Office (ISO). Ross, an analyst for an Information Technology and Logistics company that supports the CDC, conducted a 10-minute search and wrote “This request is biologically impossible” without providing evidence or sources to support the claim.

These concerns prompted Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo to call for the removal of COVID-19 vaccines from the market, as the FDA was unable to provide evidence that DNA integration is not possible. In September, Wafik El-Deiry, MD, PhD, FACP, and Charlotte Kuperwasser, PhD, presented information about DNA contamination levels in the COVID-19 vaccines and increased cancers among mRNA-vaccinated individuals in “temporal association” as part of the ACIP working group.

The presentation slides note that there is no FDA limit for DNA contaminants when present in lipid nanoparticles (LPN) that “carry DNA into cells and their nuclei.” They added that there are “concerns due to known DNA integration and gene activation/disruption by SV40 promoter/enhancer sequences.”

The Washington Post adds that “Vaccines undergo rigorous safety testing before they are licensed by the FDA, and federal agencies rely on several vaccine safety reporting systems to monitor their safety while in use.”

The outlet further states, “COVID vaccines are effective at protecting people from getting seriously ill, being hospitalized, and dying. Public health experts say staying up to date on vaccinations remains one of the best ways to protect older adults and other vulnerable people. But surveys show many Americans are still hesitant — or simply not planning to get the shot.”

This report from the Post was accompanied by several paid advertisements stating “Most Americans Choose To Vaccinate Their Children,” which is paid for by the Partnership to Fight Infectious Diseases, a non-profit that includes four advisory board group members who currently work for pharmaceutical companies. Secretary Kennedy has criticized the proliferation of pharmaceutical advertising and its influence on how the news is reported.

In December, Dr. Vinay Prasad, the FDA Director of the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), wrote that the agency’s actions in approving and promoting the COVID-19 vaccine for all age groups may have harmed more children than it saved after acknowledging at least 10 children died of the vaccination. Dr. Prasad said the number is actually higher, as they reviewed just 96 reports and used a conservative approach in classifying the 10 cases as being causally related to the vaccine.

It is unknown whether the ACIP panel will vote on any further restrictions on the COVID-19 vaccine this coming week, but there will be a discussion of vaccine-related injuries associated with the mRNA shots licensed under “Operation Warp Speed.”

The committee will also discuss long COVID, a side effect from COVID-19 infection that Yale researchers have found has similar side effects as post-vaccination syndrome (PVS). The NIH previously spent over $1 billion to study long COVID but has devoted little effort to studying PVS.