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HHS justifies its decision, but health experts including American Academy of Pediatrics criticizes action
By G.A. McNeeley
January 8, 2026 (Washington D.C.) -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on January 5 announced that it is slashing the number of diseases for which vaccines are recommended for children from 17 to 11.
The action drew swift condemnation from the American Academy of Pediatrics. In a press release, the professional organization representing children’s doctors calls the changes “dangerous and unnecessary.”
HHS indicates it consulted with career staff at The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the changes to the vaccine schedule, according to CNN.
Under these new HHS guidelines, it's recommended that only children in high-risk groups receive immunizations for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, dengue, meningococcal ACWY, and meningococcal B, according to CBS News, despite the fact that these diseases account for high numbers of infant and childhood deaths each year..
For children who aren’t in high-risk groups, the decision on whether or not to receive certain vaccines should be based on "shared clinical decision-making" between physicians and parents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Those immunizations include COVID-19, influenza, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B. CNN also reported that decisions on vaccinations against rotavirus should also be based on “shared clinical decision-making.”
CBS News added that the vaccines that are still recommended for all children under the new guidelines include diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis (whooping cough), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), Pneumococcal conjugate, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, human papillomavirus (HPV), and varicella (chickenpox).
What Is the HHS Doing to the Vaccine Schedule?
NPR reported that health officials confirmed that the changes were made without formal public comment or input from vaccine makers, circumventing the typical process in which many stakeholders, including the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, weigh in on the benefits and risks of any changes to the vaccine schedule.
CNN reported that these changes come amid a sharp increase in flu cases across the country, and that the CDC reported nine pediatric deaths from flu this season.
The HHS said that all insurers will still cover these vaccines, without cost-sharing. However, these changes could present new hurdles for parents who need to consult with doctors about immunizations no longer recommended for healthy children.
NPR reported that this revamp follows a presidential memorandum that directed the HHS and the CDC to compare the list of vaccines recommended for children in the U.S. with those in "peer, developed countries."
"President Trump directed us to examine how other developed nations protect their children and to take action if they are doing better," Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a press release about the changes. "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. This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health."
CNN reported that President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that the new vaccine schedule is a “far more reasonable” one that protects children against “11 of the most serious and dangerous diseases. Parents can still choose to give their children all of the Vaccinations, if they wish, and they will still be covered by insurance.”
In a separate Truth Social post, Trump signaled that he also wanted to see the separation of the measles, mumps and rubella vaccines into three separate shots.
NBC News added that the childhood vaccine schedule is a set of recommendations on the timing of vaccinations. It’s used to guide what vaccines are covered by insurance, and are needed to attend day care centers and public schools. States determine which vaccines are required for school attendance, and they've historically relied on the CDC schedule. It’s usually annually reviewed by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and updated based on the latest scientific evidence.
NPR reported that these changes to the schedule came after a "comprehensive scientific assessment" compared U.S. policies with 20 other countries, according to a senior administration health official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity.
The assessment was authored by Dr. Tracy Beth Høeg, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, and Dr. Martin Kulldorff, chief science and data Officer for the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation.
NBC News reported that the assessment says that “the loss of trust during the pandemic not only affected the COVID-19 vaccine uptake. It also contributed to less adherence to the full CDC childhood immunization schedule, with lower rates of consensus vaccines such as measles, rubella, pertussis, and polio.”
The assessment also says “there is a need for more and better science” on vaccines, but the new schedule doesn’t say there are specific vaccines that children shouldn’t get.
NBC News added that back in December, Dr. Hoeg, who’s been critical of the COVID-19 shot, gave a presentation about the Danish vaccine schedule at a CDC vaccine advisory committee meeting.
The presentation by Dr. Hoeg, who holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Denmark, suggested that fewer vaccines might reduce children’s exposure to aluminum, which is an ingredient used in shots to boost the immune response. However, a study from Denmark found that aluminum exposure from vaccines isn’t harmful.
NBC News reported that after the meeting ended, Trump directed health officials to review U.S. childhood vaccination recommendations, and align them with the “best practices” from other developed countries, such as Denmark.
What Have Health Experts Been Saying?
Anders Hviid, who leads vaccine safety and effectiveness research at the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark, said that Denmark isn’t a good blueprint for U.S. vaccine policy. He told CNN in an email that they’re “two very different countries. Public health is not one size fits all.”
Hviid added that in Denmark, “everyone has access to excellent prenatal and childhood care. As I understand it, that is not the case for everyone in the US. Vaccines prevent infections that may have poor outcomes for children who do not have access to good healthcare.”
Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a professor of global health and infectious diseases at Stanford University, said there was an “incredible lack of transparency” behind the new schedule, according to NBC News.
“There are no data, no papers, no discussions at all that are cited in this quote-unquote exhaustive search. So we have no idea who made these decisions and why they were made now,” Dr. Maldonado said, according to NBC News.
Dr. Molly O'Shea, a pediatrician and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) spokesperson, told ABC News that the vaccination schedule updates might have secondary impacts, such as how often children and families see their pediatrician.
"Whether or not a parent's going to opt in or opt out of vaccines, children still need their wellness visit," O'Shea said, according to ABC News. "Absent vaccines, kids are really going to miss out on important other screening aspects of the wellness visits if their parents are opting out."
Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the American Association of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases, said on Monday, January 5, that “what was announced today is part of a decades-long effort on the part of the health secretary to spread fear and falsehoods about vaccines, and this is another step in the secretary’s effort to dismantle the US vaccination system,” according to CNN.
Dr. Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, says in a statement on the AAP’s website: ”AAP continues to recommend that children be immunized against these diseases, and for good reason; thanks to widespread childhood immunizations, the United States has fewer pediatric hospitalizations and fewer children facing serious health challenges than we would without this community protection.”
For example, RSV, the leading cause of hospitalization for infants, was cut by as much as half following implementation of maternal and infant immunization, a recent study showed. Each year, the vaccine prevents an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 hospitalizations among U.S. infants and young children.
Hepatitis B infections in infants and children have dropped 99% since universal birth dose was recommended in 1991. In addition, about 90% of children who died of influenza (flu) last season were not fully vaccinated.
Epidemiologist Michael Osterholm, of the Vaccine Integrity Project and director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, said that "Eliminating vital U.S. childhood vaccine recommendations without public discussion of the potential impacts on children in this country, or a transparent review of the data on which the changes were based, is a radical and dangerous decision,” according to NPR.
Dr. Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist and director of the Center for Outbreak Response Innovation at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said “I think that a reduced schedule is going to endanger children and lay the groundwork for a resurgence in preventable disease,” according to CNN.
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/05/health/childhood-vaccine-schedule-overhaul
https://www.hhs.gov/press-room/fact-sheet-cdc-childhood-immunization-recommendations.html
https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/cdc-announces-new-childhood-vaccine-recommendations/
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115844861259246664
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/115844814100241306
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna250055
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/presidential-memoranda/
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/02/rfk-covid-vaccine-plans-cdc-fda-september
RFK Jr., CDC reduce number of recommended vaccines for children
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