The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced on Monday sweeping changes to the country's routine childhood vaccine schedule, reducing the number of recommended shots from 17 to 11 following President Trump's directive.
The new schedule no longer universally recommends immunizations against meningitis, hepatitis A and B, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), rotavirus, COVID-19, and influenza. Instead, these vaccines are now categorized as either recommended for high-risk groups or based on shared clinical decision-making between parents and physicians.
The changes follow President Trump's December 5, 2025 Presidential Memorandum directing HHS and CDC to examine how peer developed nations structure their childhood vaccination schedules. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. championed the overhaul, which mirrors Denmark's more limited vaccine schedule.
The CDC will continue to recommend that all children receive vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, polio, pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), pneumococcal disease, HPV, and chickenpox.
Vaccines for diseases that no longer carry a universal recommendation will still be covered by federal health insurance programs, including Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program, and plans sold under the Affordable Care Act.
The American Academy of Pediatrics criticized the changes, stating they were made without adequate scientific review and will confuse parents and clinicians. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician, warned that "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."
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