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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started the year by making major changes to its childhood immunization schedule, reducing the numbers of vaccine recommendations as directed by President Donald Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
However, public health experts nationwide have been vocal about their opposition to the federal changes and their intent to follow past recommendations.
On Jan. 26, the American Academy of Pediatrics released its updated vaccine recommendations for children.
“As there is a lot of confusion going on with the constant new recommendations coming out of federal government, it is important that we have a stable, trusted, evidence-based immunization schedule to follow and that’s the AAP schedule,” said Dr. Pia Pannaraj, member of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases (COID) and a professor of pediatrics at the University of California San Diego.
The AAP said it will continue to broadly recommend routine immunization against RSV, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rotavirus, influenza and meningococcal disease.
Additionally, 12 major medical and health care organizations have formally endorsed its recommendations, including the American Medical Association, the National Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians.
“The science hasn’t changed,” Dr. Claudia Hoyen, pediatric infectious disease specialist, told CNN. “We will continue to follow the science.”
“For now, unfortunately, we have to ignore everything about vaccines that is coming from our federal government,” added Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the AAP’s Committee on Infectious Diseases. “Parents should trust their pediatrician, trust the professional societies like the American Academy of Pediatrics.”
Pediatric hospitals like Children’s National in Washington, D.C., Texas Children’s, Seattle Children’s, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia also said they will be following the AAP.
A spokesperson for the Cleveland Clinic told Stat News the hospital’s care will not be changing due to the new vaccine schedule, noting that clinicians are “still offering all the vaccines and encouraging our patients and families to talk to their providers regarding any questions.”
According to health policy organization KFF, states have historically followed CDC recommendations. However, as of Jan. 20, 28 states have said they will deviate from federal guidelines and now follow AAP recommendations instead.
“For the first time in our country, we’re going to have really varying laws, policies and attitudes about vaccines based on where people live,” said Jen Kates, a co-author of the analysis. “It’s a major sea change in public health policy.”
On Jan. 5, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced in a press release that it was reducing the number of vaccines broadly recommended for American children. The decision came nearly one month after President Donald Trump directed HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Acting Director of CDC to examine how other developed nations structure their childhood vaccination schedules, evaluate the scientific evidence underlying those practices and update the U.S. schedule as needed.
The HHS said that it will no longer broadly recommend six vaccines: rotavirus, influenza, hepatitis A, hepatitis B and some forms of meningococcal disease and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Instead, the vaccines will only be recommended for some high-risk groups or involve shared decision-making between parents and healthcare providers.
“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 in a statement. “This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health.”
The CDC still recommends children get vaccinated for measles, mumps, rubella, polio, pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus (HPV), and varicella (chickenpox).