The chairman of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), Kirk Milhoan, MD, PhD, said in a podcast that polio and measles vaccines should be optional and given in consultation with a physician.[1][4] He emphasized that the choice of vaccination is the most important element for the public, despite the risk of contracting the disease.[1] The American Medical Association (AMA) has expressed deep concern over proposals to weaken recommendations for routine vaccinations, including the polio vaccine, because vaccines have saved millions of lives and nearly eradicated polio in the US.[2] The National Medical Association (NMA) rejected a proposal to make polio and measles vaccines optional, as before widespread vaccination, polio caused about 15,000 cases of paralysis in children in the US each year.[3] Milhoan defended the hepatitis B recommendation at the ACIP meeting in December, where they suggested individualized vaccine administration decisions, including the birth dose, for infants of HBsAg-negative mothers, with the first dose recommended no earlier than 2 months of age.[1] The new ACIP members were selected by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who dismissed their predecessors for alleged influence from the pharmaceutical industry.[4] Milhoan criticized the previous ACIP for insufficient consideration of vaccine safety and emphasized the pursuit of minimal side effects while maximizing efficacy.[4]