CDC Significantly Alters Childhood Vaccine Schedule After 'Exhaustive Review of the Evidence'
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revised the childhood vaccine schedule to reduce the recommended number of vaccines for all children from 17 to 11.
“After a scientific review of the underlying science, comparing the U.S. child and adolescent immunization schedule with those of peer, developed nations, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Acting Director Jim O’Neill has updated the U.S. childhood immunization schedule,” the CDC said in a fact sheet.
“The CDC will continue to recommend that all children are immunized against 10 diseases for which there is international consensus, as well as varicella (chickenpox),” the fact sheet said.
“For other diseases, the CDC will recommend immunization for high-risk groups and populations, or through shared clinical decision making when it is not possible for public health authorities to clearly define who will benefit from an immunization,” it continued.
The fact sheet noted that the list was reduced from 17 at the end of the Biden administration.
The list of vaccines includes “diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis (whooping cough), Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), Pneumococcal conjugate, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, and human papillomavirus (HPV), for which there is international consensus, as well as varicella (chickenpox).”
High-risk groups are recommended to be vaccinated against “respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, dengue, meningococcal ACWY, and meningococcal B.”
The list said that some vaccinations require that doctors and parents agree on the need for them. This group includes “rotavirus, COVID-19, influenza, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B.”
The fact sheet said the changes were made after noting that “in 2024, the U.S. recommended more childhood vaccine doses than any other peer nation, and more than twice as many as some European nations,” and that immunization rates without vaccine mandates remained high.
The fact sheet, issued with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. serving as Health and Human Services secretary, noted that the pared-down list was an attempt to restore trust in the public health system and that it “allows for more flexibility and choice, with less coercion.”
“Trust in U.S. public health declined from 72% to 40% between 2020 and 2024, coinciding with public health failure during the pandemic, including COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Though the COVID-19 vaccine was recommended for all children on the CDC schedule, the uptake rate was less than 10% by 2023. The uptake rate of other childhood vaccines declined during the same time period,” the fact sheet said.
This is what I voted for.
Trump and RFK Jr. just cut the vaccine schedule for CHILDREN from 72 to 11.
Now all we have to do is put Fauci in cuffs! pic.twitter.com/J2lTmNkM0C
— Chad Prather (@WatchChad) January 6, 2026
Kennedy said that “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,” Kennedy added, according to The Hill.
Insurance through Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program will cover the recommended vaccines.
“All vaccines currently recommended by CDC will remain covered by insurance without cost sharing,” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz remarked in a statement.
“No family will lose access. This framework empowers parents and physicians to make individualized decisions based on risk, while maintaining strong protection against serious disease,” he said.
But not everyone was on board.
As a doctor who treated patients for decades, my top priority is protecting children and families. Multiple children have died or were hospitalized from measles, and South Carolina continues to face a growing outbreak. Two children have died in my state from whooping cough. All…
— U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (@SenBillCassidy) January 5, 2026
“The vaccine schedule IS NOT A MANDATE. It’s a recommendation giving parents the power. Changing the pediatric vaccine schedule based on no scientific input on safety risks and little transparency will cause unnecessary fear for patients and doctors, and will make America sicker,” Republica Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana posted on X.
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