The US government announced it will no longer recommend that all children receive the influenza, rotavirus, meningococcal, and hepatitis A vaccines.
The change fulfills one of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s policy goals and follows President Donald Trump’s call to streamline the childhood immunization schedule to better align with other developed countries.
The big picture: Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill approved the updates outside the usual process, bypassing expert CDC advisory panels.
- New guidance says parents should consult healthcare providers to make vaccine decisions based on individual circumstances—a model known as “shared clinical-decision-making.”
- The move was informed by a review of vaccination policies in 20 developed nations, all with universal healthcare, by HHS officials Martin Kulldorf and Tracy Beth Hoeg.
Zoom in; The review found that universal recommendations for these vaccines are rare among peer nations, though most do cover other diseases.
- Most insurance will continue to cover the removed vaccines, and the CDC also shifted the HPV vaccine to a single-dose recommendation.
- The updated CDC guidelines maintain strong recommendations for 11 other vaccines, including those for measles, mumps, and chickenpox (varicella).
