As flu cases surge in the US, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overseen by the Trump administration's Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Robert F. Kennedy Jr.noted vaccine skepticannounced it would approve fewer routine vaccinations for all children.
Under the new schedule, HHS will no longer broadly recommend flu, COVID-19, rotavirus, and other previously recommended vaccinations. It now recommends 11 vaccines for all children, up from previously recommending shots to protect against 18 different diseases in 2024.
According to the company, this comes as flu cases in the United States have reached their highest levels since the COVID-19 pandemic. new data from CDCwith children and teenagers suffering the most.
“After an exhaustive review of the evidence, we are aligning the U.S. childhood immunization schedule with international consensus while strengthening transparency and informed consent,” Kennedy said in a statement. press release. “This decision protects children, respects families and restores trust in public health.”
Restoring confidence in the public health system is the main reason for the move, according to the government. A survey published last February by the agency AAMC Medical Justice Center found that public trust in institutions, including health care providers, social services, fire departments and others, declined from 2021 to 2024. The drop in confidence was sharpest for pharmacies and hospitals. Trust was lowest among Gen Z, adults living in rural areas, adults with lower annual incomes, and people without a college degree.
But doctors, immunologists and other medical experts have criticized the move as sowing vaccine hesitancy and creating confusion among patients and health care workers. Some argue it could also lead health officials to recommend fewer vaccinations.
“At a time when parents, pediatricians and the public are seeking clear guidance and accurate information, this ill-considered decision will sow further chaos and confusion and undermine confidence in immunization,” Andrew D. Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in the report. statement. “This is not the way to make our country healthier.”
What's new?
The CDC divides childhood immunization recommendations into three categories: recommendations for all children; recommendations for high-risk groups; and recommendations based on “shared clinical decision making.” The last category requires patients to consult with a doctor before receiving the vaccine.
Under the new schedule, CDC continues to recommend that all children be vaccinated against chickenpox, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, polio, pneumococcal conjugate, Haemophilus influenzae type b (HiB), measles, mumps, and rubella. The schedule also recommends one dose of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine rather than the two doses previously recommended.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common respiratory virus that infects the lungs and leading cause of infant hospitalization in the United States– no longer widely supported for all children. Instead, it is now recommended for high-risk groups.
Vaccinations for rotavirus, COVID-19, influenza, meningococcal disease, and hepatitis A and B are now based on shared clinical decision making.
CDC report Reasons why a broad recommendation of fewer vaccines “provides more flexibility and choice with less coercion.” Senior HHS officials as reported The reason for the change was cited as “a decrease in the coverage of routine vaccinations for children.” This includes sharp drop in measles vaccination rates among some measles flashes in the US last year.
No vaccines have been completely removed from the schedule, and all vaccines will continue to be available and covered under the Affordable Care Act and other federal insurance programs.
“No family will lose access,” said Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). “This system gives parents and doctors the ability to make individualized decisions based on risk while maintaining strong protection against serious illness.”
The new schedule corresponds Presidential Memorandum dated December 5 directing HHS and the CDC to match the list of recommended vaccines in the U.S. with the list of vaccines in “peer developed countries.” At the same time, CDC vaccine advisers voted for narrowing agency hepatitis B guidelines for newborns.
“President Trump has directed us to study how other developed countries protect their children and take action if they are doing better,” Kennedy said.
Medical experts have criticized the method, saying the review took only a month and was based on consensus among peer countries rather than scientific evidence. The new graph is more similar to that of Denmark, a country with a population of just 6 million compared to 343 million in the United States. For example, the CDC report mentions that Denmark is “the first peer country to lift its universal COVID-19 vaccine recommendation for children” in 2022.
“The United States is not Denmark, and there is no reason to impose a Danish vaccination schedule on American families. America is a unique country, and Denmark's population, public health infrastructure and disease risk are very different from ours,” Racine said.
“For decades, leading health experts, immunologists and pediatricians have carefully analyzed new data and evidence as part of the immunization recommendation process to help protect newborns, infants and children from the diseases they may be exposed to as they develop and grow in the United States,” Racine added. “Today’s decision, based on a brief review of practices in other countries, upends this deliberate scientific process.”
The report was prepared by Tracy Beth Hoeg, acting director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, and Martin Kulldorff, chief science and data officer at HHS. The changes were made after consultation with experts from the CDC, Food and Drug Administration, National Institutes of Health and CMS. However, he did not offer formal public comment or consultation with vaccine manufacturers and officials. as reported said.
The nonprofit public health organization Trust for America's Health, the Great Cities Health Coalition and the National Association of County and City Health Officials criticized the move. joint statement.
“For decades, each schedule change has been openly debated by experts, considering both the benefits and risks. However, today's announcement places additional burdens on parents and health care providers to navigate an increasingly complex system and ensure access to these life-saving products,” the statement said.
Increase in flu cases
The new recommendations come amid the season's first “moderately severe” flu outbreak in the United States, according to CDC data released Monday. The CDC estimates the severity of the outbreak over the course of a season using data starting October 1, when flu activity typically begins to increase. The CDC tracks the flu season from early fall to late summer.
At least 11 million people have contracted the flu, 120,000 people have been hospitalized because of it, and 5,000 people have died from it this season, according to the CDC. These numbers could increase further as flu season typically extends into May. Last week, New York health officials reported the highest number of flu-related hospitalizations recorded in a single week, with more than 4,500 hospitalizations in the seven-day period ending January 2.
Read more: When should I see a doctor about cold symptoms?
Children and adolescents have been particularly hard hit: In the last week of 2025, influenza accounted for more than 20% of emergency department visits by children ages 5 to 17 and more than 18% of visits by children under 4 years of age. Nine children have died from the flu this season. Last flu season, 289 children, most of whom were not fully vaccinated, died from the flu, the highest child death rate recorded since mandatory tracking began in 2004.
Influenza is an infection caused by any of the four types of influenza viruses A, B, C, and D. Influenza A and B are the most common causes of seasonal outbreaks in humans. Medical experts across the board recommend annual vaccinations to prevent the flu.
Flu symptoms include fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, fatigue, vomiting and diarrhea.
Experts told TIME last fall that a lag in the pace of vaccinations is likely to blame. Surge of flu cases in Asia. Factors like weather can also influence behaviors like crowding indoors, which can increase the spread of flu, experts say.
“The key is to keep up with vaccinations,” Dr. Paul Tambiah, former president of the Asia Pacific Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infection, said in October.
“There is still time to get a flu shot, and remember, the flu can be treated with antiviral medications if treatment is started within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms and your doctor deems it appropriate,” New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in a statement.
About 43% of the U.S. population has been vaccinated against influenza, according to the CDC. reported on Monday.
The most common flu cases in the United States this season have been caused by the H3N2 mutation. Tambiah previously told TIME that because the influenza virus can evolve quickly, previous vaccination or infection cannot guarantee immunity to new variants.
However, experts generally agree that staying vaccinated is the best way to minimize the impact of influenza, including reducing the spread of influenza and protecting against severe infection or death.
“Immunization is the most effective defense we have against many deadly and painful diseases. Ensuring that all children receive the vaccines they need on time stops the spread of disease in communities and ensures children's healthy development,” the nonprofit public health organizations and coalitions said in a joint statement. “Creating new barriers to immunization, as has been done today, will make it more difficult for children to grow up healthy and strong.”
