The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has upended the immunization schedule for children in the U.S., eliminating six of the 17 vaccines that were previously recommended to protect them from disease.
The new schedule removes recommendations for flu and COVID vaccines for children. Also chopped were shots for rotavirus, meningitis, hepatitis A and hepatitis B. These shots can still be administered but only after consultation with a healthcare specialist.
Additionally, immunization against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)—the top cause for infant hospitalizations in the U.S., according to the CDC—is now limited to those at high risk and children whose mothers have not been vaccinated. The CDC also now advises that one dose of the HPV vaccine is as effective as two shots.
Jim O’Neill, the acting director of the CDC, said in a press conference that the changes are effective immediately. They were determined through a “comprehensive scientific assessment” of the U.S. immunization schedule compared to other developed nations, according to a release from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
The U.S. previously recommended more childhood vaccines than any peer nation, according to the HHS, which pointed out that Denmark advises immunization against just 10 diseases.
The changes come in response to a memorandum last month from President Donald Trump to the CDC to review the childhood vaccine schedule.
“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,” Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the HHS, said in a statement. “This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health.”
The schedule adjustments run counter to scientific evidence that backed the approval and CDC recommendations of the vaccines, which were vetted through an independent advisory board. The CDC action Monday emerged from a vastly less vigorous and science-based review, according to the American Medical Association (AMA).
“When longstanding recommendations are altered without a robust, evidence-based process, it undermines public trust and puts children at unnecessary risk of preventable disease,” the AMA said in a statement. “We urge federal health leaders to recommit to a transparent, evidence-based process that puts children’s health and safety first and reflects the realities of our nation’s disease burden.”
Trump’s nomination of RFK Jr.—a longtime anti-vaccine activist—to the HHS post less than a year ago signaled the potential for consequential changes in vaccine policy. One of RFK Jr.’s first acts after he was confirmed was to remove all 17 experts on the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and replace them with his own selections.
“Donald Trump and Secretary Kennedy have long embraced unfounded anti-vax conspiracies and debunked propaganda, and now they’ve weaponized their dangerous views against American kids,” Kayla Hancock, director of Public Health Watch, said in a statement. “RFK Jr.’s contempt for peer-reviewed science showing these vaccines are safe and effective has been turned into harmful action, and it’s no hyperbole to say innocent children could die as a direct result.”
The HHS assessment was led by Tracy Beth Høeg, M.D., Ph.D., acting director for the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, and Martin Kulldorff, Ph.D., chief science and data officer for the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, in consultation with experts from the CDC, the FDA, the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, according to an HHS document.
The officials reviewed vaccine recommendations in 20 countries, the report said.
“The data support a more focused schedule that protects children from the most serious infectious diseases while improving clarity, adherence, and public confidence,” O’Neill said.
The CDC has kept intact its recommendation that all children be vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), pneumococcal conjugate, polio, measles, mumps, rubella and human papillomavirus, for which there is international consensus, as well as varicella (chickenpox).