This week, the United States announced an unprecedented change to its vaccine schedule, removing six recommended childhood shots. Here’s what to know.
The United States took the unprecedented step on Monday of cutting the number of vaccines it recommends for every child — a move that leading medical groups said would undermine protections against a half-dozen diseases.
The change, which took effect immediately, means that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will now recommend that all children get vaccinated against 11 diseases, down from 17.
What's no longer broadly recommended is protection against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis, or RSV. Instead, protections against those diseases are only recommended for certain groups deemed high risk, or when doctors recommend them in what's called “shared decision-making.”
Trump administration officials said the overhaul, a move long sought by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., won't result in families who want the vaccines losing access to them, and said insurance will continue to pay. But medical experts said the decision creates confusion for parents and could increase preventable diseases.
The changes come as US vaccination rates have been slipping and the share of children with exemptions has reached an all-time high, according to government data. At the same time, rates of diseases that can be protected against with vaccines, such as measles and whooping cough, are rising.
Requested by politicians, criticised by physicians
The US Department of Health and Human Services said the overhaul was in response to a request from President Donald Trump in December. Trump asked the agency to review how peer nations approach vaccine recommendations and consider revising US guidance accordingly.
The department said it compared US vaccine recommendations to 20 other developed nations and found the US was “a global outlier (...) in both the number of diseases addressed in its routine childhood vaccination schedule and the total number of recommended doses.”
Officials with the agency framed the change as a way to increase public trust by recommending only the most important vaccinations for children to receive.
“This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health,” Kennedy said in a statement.
The US government singled out Denmark specifically, which recommends 10 vaccines for children, as a model for the US. But pediatricians rejected this comparison as inappropriate and risky.
Dr. Sean O’Leary of the American Academy of Pediatrics said countries carefully consider vaccine recommendations based on levels of disease in their populations and their health systems.
“You can’t just copy and paste public health and that’s what they seem to be doing here,” said O’Leary. “Literally children's health and children's lives are at stake.”
“There’s no scientific reason to believe that Denmark’s vaccine recommendations are safer,” he added. “What we do know is anytime a child goes without recommended immunisations, they’re at risk for these diseases that we can prevent with a very simple, safe, effective intervention.”
Most high-income countries recommend vaccinations against 12 to 15 serious pathogens, according to a recent review by the Vaccine Integrity Project, a group that works to safeguard vaccine use.
France today recommends all children get vaccinated against 14 diseases, compared to the 11 that the US now will recommend for every child under the new schedule.
Leading medical groups are sticking with prior vaccine recommendations, saying there’s no new science to warrant a change — and they worry the conflicting advice will leave more children vulnerable to preventable illness or death.
