The US Department of Health and Human Services is recommending fewer vaccines for most American children, health officials say. The recommended vaccines, according to a new list issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday, include polio and measles vaccines, but others, like hepatitis A and B, and Covid vaccines, are recommended based on risk and "shared clinical decision-making" between doctors and parents. President Donald Trump praised the new recommendation saying it was "rooted in the gold standard of science". However, the American Academy of Pediatrics criticized the recommendation, describing it as "dangerous and unnecessary." Health officials recommend that decisions on vaccinations against flu, Covid-19 and rotavirus be based on "shared clinical decision-making," which means people who want one must consult with a health care provider. HHS said that its recommendations for immunizations against respiratory synctytial virus, or RSV, remain unchanged and that infants born to mothers who did not receive the vaccine should have one dose. The changes come amid a sharp increase in flu cases across the country. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported nine pediatric deaths from flu this season. HHS said that all insurers will still cover these vaccines without cost-sharing. However, the changes could present new hurdles for parents who need to consult with doctors about immunizations no longer recommended for healthy children. The new US schedule of childhood vaccines more closely resembles that of other developed nations such as Denmark, as CNN reported last month. Denmark does not currently recommend childhood vaccinations against rotavirus, hepatitis A, meningococcal, flu or chickenpox. US health officials initially planned to announce the changes in December, weeks after Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg, newly named acting director of the US Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, gave a presentation on the Danish vaccine schedule to the CDC's panel of vaccine advisers. The panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunizations Practices, was reconstituted last year with a new group of members after US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime anti-vaccine skeptic, dismissed all previous appointees. The overhaul comes one month after President Donald Trump ordered the health department to review the childhood vaccine schedule. Several public health experts warned that the changes announced Monday could fuel outbreaks of preventable diseases. "I think that a reduced schedule is going to endanger children and lay the groundwork for a resurgence in preventable disease," said Dr. Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist and director of the Center for Outbreak Response Innovation at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. HHS in a statement said that reducing the number of recommended vaccines would help restore public trust in health agencies — and possibly confidence in vaccines themselves. The agency reasoned that despite recommending more shots, the US does not have higher vaccination rates than peer countries that rely on "education rather than mandates." The government's vaccine outreach and messaging has been vastly reshaped under Kennedy, who has questioned vaccine safety for decades. It is a "confusing time" for doctors and parents, Dr. Sean O'Leary, chair of the American Association of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, said Monday. "What was announced today is part of a decades-long effort on the part of the health secretary to spread fear and falsehoods about vaccines, and this is another step in the secretary's effort to dismantle the US vaccination system," O'Leary said. At the same time, public information about vaccination rates is faltering. Last week, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services dropped requirements for states to report childhood vaccination status for beneficiaries, a move that experts say may raise unnecessary doubts about the importance of vaccines. CMS sent a letter to state health officials on December 30 stating that vaccination data no longer needs to be submitted to the agency that oversees Medicaid and Medicare. "This is another message that could create doubt in people's minds about the need for vaccines, and that isn't something that's supported by current science," said Dr. Michelle Fiscus, a pediatrician and chief medical officer of the Association of Immunization Managers. Health officials said Monday that they consulted with career staff at the CDC and the FDA about the changes to the vaccine schedule. Officials also insisted that these changes do not sideline ACIP, the panel of vaccine advisers that convenes for public meetings several times a year to discuss and vote on recommendations. — Agencies
