Washington — The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention on Monday announced updated recommendations for childhood vaccines with some significant changes. The new guidelines recommend fewer shots and are likely to face pushback from many doctors and public health experts.
Under the new guidelines, the CDC recommends all children be vaccinated against 11 diseases, a decrease from the 17 immunizations previously recommended.
The vaccines recommended under the new guidelines include diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis (whooping cough), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), Pneumococcal conjugate, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, and human papillomavirus (HPV), as well as varicella (chickenpox). (Some vaccines, such as the MMR shot for measles, mumps and rubella, protect against multiple diseases.)
Under the new guidelines, it’s recommended that only children in high-risk categories receive immunizations for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, dengue, meningococcal ACWY and meningococcal B.
For children not in high-risk groups, the determination on whether to receive certain vaccines should be based on “shared clinical decision-making” between physicians and parents, according to the CDC. Those immunizations include COVID-19, influenza, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B.
The changes follow a controversial December recommendation on when children should receive their first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine. For more than 30 years, the CDC advised that the first dose be given within 24 hours of birth. The CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, which has been hand-picked by Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr., voted to recommend delaying the shot until a child is 2 months old for those born to mothers who test negative for the virus.
Kennedy said in a statement that Monday’s announcement “protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health.”
“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,” he said.
The assessment compared the U.S. vaccine schedule to those of 20 other developed nations and found that the U.S. is a “global outlier” in both the number of diseases addressed and total number of recommended doses, according to the Health and Human Services Department.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has disputed that, saying the longstanding U.S. recommendations were based on “robust evidence” and are “largely similar across developed countries,” with some variance due to factors like disease threats, demographics and health care systems.
