Under anti-vaccine RFK Jr., CDC slashes childhood vaccine schedule
Led by anti-vaccine Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., federal health officials on Monday announced a sweeping and unprecedented overhaul of federal vaccine recommendations, abruptly reducing recommended vaccinations for children ages 17 to 11.
Officials said the reason for the change was to more closely align U.S. vaccine recommendations with those of other high-income countries, namely Denmark, a small, much less diverse country of about 6 million people (smaller than the population of New York City) that has a universal health care system. Officials also say the change is needed to address a decline in public confidence in vaccinations driven by anti-vaccine activists including Kennedy.
“This decision protects children, respects families and restores confidence in public health,” Kennedy said in a statement.
Health experts disagree. “Kennedy’s decision will harm and kill children, as will all of his anti-vaccination decisions,” virologist James Alwine, who works with the organization Defend Public Health, said in a statement.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, a vocal critic of Kennedy, blasted the changes, saying that “arbitrarily ceasing to recommend many routine childhood immunizations is dangerous and unnecessary,” said AAP President Andrew Racine. “The United States is not Denmark,” he added.
Under new federal recommendations, universally recommended vaccinations are reduced to these 11 diseases: measles, mumps, rubella, polio, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus (HPV), and varicella (chickenpox).
