President Donald Trump has signed off on a revamped childhood vaccine schedule issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
"My administration is committed to ensuring that Americans are receiving the best scientifically supported medical advice in the world," he said in an executive order late last week. "Additionally, my administration is committed to protecting religious liberty and parental authority. Therefore, it is the policy of the United States that the core childhood vaccine schedule should be aligned with scientific evidence and best practices from peer, developed countries while preserving access to vaccines currently available to Americans and that the federal government will continue to protect religious freedom and enforce all legal protections for parents."
The executive order is the culmination of a process that began in December, when Trump instructed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to review the childhood vaccine schedule. In January, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced plans to eliminate 6 of 17 previously recommended vaccines.
"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," Kennedy said at the time. "This decision protects children, respects families and rebuilds trust in public health."
The new schedule eliminates childhood vaccinations for the flu, COVID 19, rotavirus, meningitis, hepatitis A and hepatitis B, although they still can be administered following consultation with a health care provider.
"The scientific assessment found that the United States currently recommends more childhood vaccines than any peer nation, including more than twice as many vaccine doses as some European nations, and identified a set of consensus vaccines that are consistently recommended in all peer countries," the executive order said. "The scientific assessment also found that instead of implementing vaccination mandates, most peer nations maintain high childhood vaccination rates through public trust and education."
The American Academy of Pediatrics and other groups have pushed back against the changes. Dr. Bobby Mukkamala, president of the American Medical Association, questioned the scientific evidence behind the new policy.
"That schedule is built on decades of rigorous research and real-world data, and it is designed to protect children in the U.S. when they are most vulnerable, based on our nation's disease burden," he said, according to Fierce Healthcare. "Altering it without clear, evidence-based justification risks continued confusion for parents and patients, undermining trust in vaccines and ultimately lowering vaccination rates. That would put more children and communities at risk of preventable illness.
"Vaccines are one of the most effective tools in modern medicine. Decisions about their use must be guided by science, patient safety and the expertise of unbiased physicians and public health experts -- not by policy shifts that erode confidence in proven protections."
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