US health department to recommend fewer vaccinations for children
The US Department of Health and Human Services will recommend fewer vaccines for most American children, health officials said Monday, reports BritPanorama.
Health officials will continue to recommend the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines, as well as immunizations against polio, chickenpox, HPV, and others. However, they will narrow the recommendations for vaccination against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), meningococcal disease, hepatitis B, and hepatitis A to children at higher risk for infections.
Decisions regarding vaccinations against flu, Covid-19, and rotavirus will shift to “shared clinical decision making,” meaning individuals who want these vaccines will need to consult with a healthcare provider first.
The proposed changes come amid a sharp increase in flu cases across the country. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been nine pediatric deaths reported so far this season.
HHS stated that all insurers will still cover these vaccines without cost-sharing. However, these changes may introduce new challenges for parents trying to consult with doctors about immunizations that are no longer recommended for healthy children.
The new vaccination schedule in the US will align more closely with those of other developed countries, such as Denmark, as CNN reported last month. Denmark does not currently mandate childhood vaccinations against rotavirus, hepatitis A, meningococcal disease, flu, chickenpox, or RSV.
Originally, health officials planned to announce these changes in December following a presentation made by Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg, the acting director of the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, on the Danish vaccine schedule.
This panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, was reconstituted last year after US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a known sceptic of vaccines, dismissed all previous appointees.
The overhaul of the vaccination schedule follows President Donald Trump’s order for the health department to review the current childhood vaccination guidelines.
“It is ridiculous!” Trump stated in a Truth Social post one month ago. “That is why I have just signed a Presidential memorandum directing the Department of Health and Human Services to ‘FAST TRACK’ a comprehensive evaluation of vaccine schedules from other countries around the world, and better align the US vaccine schedule.”
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded on X, saying, “Thank you, Mr. President. We’re on it.”
Several public health experts have cautioned that these changes could trigger 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,” stated Dr. Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist and director of the Center for Outbreak Response Innovation at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Anders Hviid, who leads vaccine safety and effectiveness research at the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark, remarked that Denmark is not an appropriate model for US vaccination policy. “Public health is not one size fits all,” he emphasized.
He explained that in Denmark, “everyone has access to excellent prenatal and childhood care,” which is not universally the case in the US. “Vaccines prevent infections that may have poor outcomes for children who do not have access to good healthcare.”
The conversation surrounding childhood vaccinations in the US is poised to continue, highlighting the complexities and varying healthcare landscapes within countries.
