WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal health officials announced a major shift Monday in the U.S. childhood immunization schedule, reducing the number of vaccines recommended for children in a move championed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Under the revised guidance, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will recommend 11 routine childhood vaccines instead of the previous 17. Officials said the change, effective immediately, is intended to align the United States more closely with other developed countries and to rebuild public trust in vaccines amid declining uptake.
According to materials released by the Department of Health and Human Services, the CDC will no longer routinely recommend vaccines for rotavirus, influenza, meningococcal disease, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), hepatitis A, and hepatitis B for all children. Instead, those vaccines will be recommended primarily for high-risk groups or through individualized consultation with physicians. Officials acknowledged no new scientific review was conducted to redefine which populations are considered high risk.
The decision fulfills a long-standing goal of Kennedy, a former leader of the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense, and follows a directive from President Donald Trump to compare the U.S. vaccine schedule with “peer nations.” Kennedy said the change would strengthen transparency and informed consent, while critics warned it could undermine confidence in immunizations.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician, criticized the move, saying altering the schedule without clear scientific input could create unnecessary fear and increase health risks. Public health experts expressed concern the change could fuel vaccine skepticism and raise the likelihood of disease outbreaks, even as federal officials stressed that insurance coverage and access to vaccines will remain unchanged.
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