The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reduced the number of vaccines recommended for all children, a move slammed by pediatricians. The U.S. now recommends vaccines against 11 diseases, down from the previous universal recommendations. Protection against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis, and RSV is no longer broadly recommended to all children. Instead, these protections are only recommended for certain groups deemed high-risk or if their doctors recommend them through “shared decision-making.”
Policy Change and Rationale
The overhaul became effective immediately following President Donald Trump’s December request that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services review how peer nations approach vaccine recommendations. HHS comparison to 20 peer nations found that the U.S. was an “outlier” in both the number of vaccinations and number of doses recommended to all children. Trump administration officials said the change aims to increase public trust by recommending only the most important vaccinations for children.
The new guidance reduces recommended vaccine doses for human papillomavirus from two or three shots to one for most children, depending on age. The decision was made without input from an advisory committee that typically consults on the vaccine schedule. Vaccines remaining on the recommended-for-everyone list include those protecting against measles, whooping cough, polio, tetanus, chickenpox, and HPV.
Professional Opposition
Medical experts disagreed with the change, saying it would put children at risk. Dr. Sean O’Leary of the American Academy of Pediatrics stated that countries carefully consider vaccine recommendations based on disease levels in their populations and health systems. “You can’t just copy and paste public health and that’s what they seem to be doing here,” O’Leary said, adding “Literally children’s health and children’s lives are at stake.” Michael Osterholm of the Vaccine Integrity Project at the University of Minnesota stated: “Abandoning recommendations for vaccines that prevent influenza, hepatitis and rotavirus, and changing the recommendation for HPV without a public process to weigh the risks and benefits, will lead to more hospitalizations and preventable deaths among American children.”
Trump administration officials said the overhaul won’t result in families losing access to the vaccines and that insurance will continue to pay for them.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://us.headtopics.com/news/childhood-vaccines-78045722