The CDC reduced the number of fully recommended childhood vaccines from 17 to 11, following a December directive to review vaccine schedules in other high-income countries. An Oklahoma vaccine advocacy group argues this move doesn’t reflect scientific evidence and could have consequences for families.
The new childhood immunization schedule shifts six vaccines from being universally recommended to being based on shared clinical decision-making. This means the agency recommends families and providers discuss individual risks and health circumstances before deciding whether a child should get an immunization.
Vaccines for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rotavirus, meningococcal disease, influenza and COVID-19 were shifted to this category. This kind of change is typically discussed and voted on in a public Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting.
Instead, it was requested via a signed memorandum from Trump administration leaders and justified by a 33-page assessment.
CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said in a press release that all CDC-recommended vaccines will remain covered by insurance without cost-sharing.
“No family will lose access,” Oz said. “This framework empowers parents and physicians to make individualized decisions based on risk, while maintaining strong protection against serious disease.”
American Academy of Pediatrics President Dr. Andrew Racine said in a statement this change is “dangerous and unnecessary.” The academy has published its own recommendations for childhood vaccines.
What are providers in Oklahoma saying?
Dr. Steven Crawford, chair of the board of the Oklahoma Alliance for Healthy Families, said the framing of shared clinical decision-making matters, as it relies on a relationship with a primary care clinician. This, he said, presents logistical challenges for families who don’t have that relationship.
“If you’ve been to a primary care clinician in the last 15 years, you know that clinician is busy and has to deal with multiple things,” Crawford said. “Adding this on top of that to me just provides another barrier to providing adequate care and protection for these folks.”
In the press release, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said this decision aligns the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with international consensus. The schedule now nearly matches Denmark’s, with the exception of the chickenpox vaccine, which the U.S. still recommends.
Denmark has around 6 million people – compared to approximately 340 million people in the U.S. – who can access universal health care. Its sick-leave policies are generous. But, in the U.S., paid sick leave isn’t guaranteed.
Denmark also possesses a robust public health infrastructure that screens every pregnant woman for hepatitis B and ensures follow-up, according to the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. In the U.S., about 27 million people are uninsured, and approximately 15% of pregnancies aren’t screened for hepatitis B.
“Our population is nowhere near what Denmark's is,” Crawford said.
Kennedy added in the press release that this decision “protects children, respects families and rebuilds trust in public health.” Crawford said he worries it just plants doubt in the minds of parents who might be hesitant toward vaccines.
“That discourages people that say, well … maybe I should go to Dr. Google more and read Dr. Google's opinion,” Crawford said. “Unfortunately, Dr. Google's opinion is fraught with all kinds of political and unscientific bias.”
That doubt, he said, can have consequences. He said meningococcal disease, for example, is a relatively rare but serious bacterial infection. According to the CDC, it progresses rapidly and has a case-fatality rate of 10 to 15% – even with treatment. Survivors can suffer long-term impacts, like deafness or amputations.
Crawford said that, during his residency, he cared for a patient who presented to the emergency room with meningococcal disease. He said she died within six hours despite having no other health issues.
“They essentially performed public health malpractice by their decision. And that's the title I would like to say that occurred – public health malpractice. Because they didn't think of the consequences of what their decisions would be,” Crawford said. “I truly believe that it will result in serious physical harm to children and to adults and their grandparents.”
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