National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC)

The National Vaccine Advisory Committee was established in 1987 to comply with Title XXI of the Public Health Service Act (P.L. 99-660) (Section 2105) (42 U.S. Code 300aa-5 (PDF - 78 KB)). Its purpose is to advise and make recommendations to the Director of the National Vaccine Program on matters related to program responsibilities. The Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH) has been designated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services as the Director of the National Vaccine Program.

Functions of NVAC

The National Vaccine Advisory Committee recommends ways to achieve optimal prevention of human infectious diseases through vaccine development, and provides direction to prevent adverse reactions to vaccines.

The functions of the NVAC as specified in the Public Health Service Act are to:

• Study and recommend ways to encourage the availability of an adequate supply of safe and effective vaccination products in the States.
• Recommend research priorities and other measures the Director of the National Vaccine Program should take to enhance the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
• Advise the Director of the Program in implementation of sections 2102 and 2103 of the Public Health Service Act.
• Identify annually for the Director of the program the most important areas of government and non-government cooperation that should be considered in implementing sections 2102 and 2103 of the Public Health Service Act.