The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, is a volunteer committee at the CDC that reviews the evidence on vaccines and makes recommendations for who should receive which vaccines and when. ACIP develops the CDC’s Recommended Immunization Schedules, including those for children and teens and for adults.
Although ACIP’s recommendations are not binding, the CDC director nearly always signs off on their recommendations, so ACIP is essentially the most important vaccine policy-making body in the U.S. The committee was created by statute, and a full description of its duties and procedures are here.
Deeper Dive
The committee’s 19 voting members make the vaccine recommendations, but they receive input from representatives of other federal agencies and of stakeholder organizations, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical societies and the National Association of County and City Health Officials.
There are also ACIP Work Groups that can include members who are not among the 19 voting ACIP members but who bring expertise about specific pathogens or vaccines. ACIP Work Groups specialize in evaluating the data on specific vaccines, especially those for which data are still emerging or development of new vaccines is occurring.
As of November 2024, there are 11 ACIP Work Groups, but the number fluctuates according to need.ACIP members typically serve four-year terms, but they are appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who can appoint and dismiss members at will. ACIP meetings are posted in advance and open to the public both in person and via streaming. The public also has the opportunity to submit public comments for meetings.