New Childhood Vaccine Schedule Drops 6 Universally Recommended Shots
The U.S. childhood vaccine schedule was significantly overhauled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday, reducing the number of universally recommended shots from 17 to 11.
Vaccines against rotavirus, hepatitis A and B, meningitis, and seasonal flu—those that had previously been recommended for all children—are now recommended only for those in certain high-risk groups or for parents who opt for them after discussing with their physicians.
The announcement comes in the midst of a rough flu season, with cases surging in 45 states and reports of 5,00 flu deaths—including those of nine children.
“President Trump directed us to examine how other developed nations protect their children and to take action if they are doing better,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a press release. “After an exhaustive review of the evidence, we are aligning the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with international consensus while strengthening transparency and informed consent. This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health.”
Many experts strongly disagree, with the American Medical Association, the American College of Emergency Physicians, the Vaccine Integrity Project of the University of Minnesota, and the American Academy of Pediatrics among those blasting the decision.
AAP president Andrew D. Racine, in a statement, called the announcement “dangerous and unnecessary,” noting that that the “longstanding, evidence-based approach that has guided the U.S. immunization review and recommendation process remains the best way to keep children healthy and protect against health complications and hospitalizations.”
He added, “Today’s decision, which was based on a brief review of other countries’ practices, upends this deliberate scientific process.”
RFK Jr., long an outspoken opponent of the childhood vaccine schedule, was bombarded with questions about how his beliefs may affect the schedule during a combative hearing before the Senate Finance Committee back in September. “I’m not anti-vaccine,” he insisted. “Saying I’m anti-vaccine is like saying I’m anti-medicine. I’m pro-medicine, but I understand some medicines harm people. Some of them have risks.”
The decision memo, created after reviewing the vaccine practices of 20 peer, developed nations and presented by National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Food and Drug Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, was formally accepted by acting CDC director Jim O’Neill, who directed the CDC to move forward with the new schedule.
The immunization schedule will now be organized into three distinct categories:
- Those recommended for all children: measles, mumps, rubella, polio, tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), pneumococcal disease, varicella (chickenpox), and human papillomavirus (HPV). For HPV, the CDC is now recommending one instead of two doses, “following the lead of several peer nation [sic],” according to a new HHS fact sheet.
- Those recommended for certain high-risk populations: respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, dengue, meningococcal ACWY, and meningococcal B.
- Those based on “shared clinical decision-making”: rotavirus, COVID-19, influenza, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B.
Insurance companies will be required to cover vaccines in all three new categories without cost-sharing, according to HHS, with Dr. Oz stressing, “All vaccines currently recommended by CDC will remain covered by insurance without cost sharing. No family will lose access.”
Still, Michael Osterholm, MPH, PhD, of the Vaccine Integrity Project and the director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), calls the new decision “radical and dangerous,” noting, “This wildly irresponsible decision will put lives at risk.”