Under RFK Jr., the CDC is scrutinizing the childhood vaccine schedule : Shots

For decades, babies have winced, squirmed and cried during a series of vaccinations that begin immediately after they are born. Vaccinations protect against diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus and mumps that once plagued children and their parents.

“When I was a kid, my parents were terrified that I would get polio or measles or something else. And my friends died,” says the doctor. Stanley Plotkinan accomplished vaccine scientist, now 93 years old, and professor emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania.

“Today's parent likely doesn't worry about their child dying from an infectious disease,” he adds.

This is because regular childhood vaccinations have largely eradicated many diseases, making vaccination one of the greatest triumphs of medicine.

But Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long questioned the safety and effectiveness of many vaccines. And President Trump recently called for big changes in the way children are vaccinated.

“They pump so much into these beautiful babies, it's a shame. I don't see it. I think it's very bad,” Trump said recently at a White House event. “It looks like they're pumping up the horse.”

Thus, a powerful CDC committee has now been created, chosen by Kennedy. careful study of the childhood vaccination calendar. The schedule is a precisely calibrated schedule that pediatricians use to administer a sequence of more than 30 doses to protect against more than a dozen diseases.

The move is welcomed by some human rights activists, doctors and scientists.

“I think it's true that any vaccination schedule should be evaluated periodically,” the doctor says. Ofer Levi, Harvard vaccine scientist. “As we like to say, 'Moses did not come down from Mount Sinai and say, 'This will be the only way to vaccinate.'

But others are concerned that the review is part of Kennedy's anti-vaccine campaign.

“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was an anti-vaccination activist and science denier for 20 years. One would hope that when he is confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services, he will take on his job of protecting the health of children in this country. But he didn’t,” says the doctor. Paul Offitwho directs the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. “All he cares about is making vaccines less available, less accessible and more dangerous.”

Federal officials did not respond to NPR's questions about a possible overhaul of childhood vaccination schedules.

This review is of particular concern to many public health authorities amid new outbreaks diseases such as measles and whooping cough. Their numbers are rising due to falling immunization rates.

Offit and others say each vaccine is carefully evaluated before being included on the list. And researchers and regulators constantly monitor all vaccines.

“All the data and evidence shows that our vaccination schedule is incredibly safe and incredibly effective,” the doctor said. Yvonne Maldonadoexpert in pediatric infectious diseases at Stanford University. “In fact, this is probably the most efficient vaccination schedule in the world.”

Children receive this list of vaccinations at an early age to make sure they don't contract dangerous diseases when they are most vulnerable, Maldonado and others said.

Some people who worry about vaccines argue that the amount of different antigens and other ingredients can overwhelm a child's immune system. But babies' immune systems can handle it, Maldonado and other scientists say. Children are exposed to much more natural stimulation from germs than from vaccines. Over the decades, vaccines have been improved to minimize the amount of ingredients they contain.

According to Offit, there are about 170 different components in the various shots on today's vaccination schedule, which is “actually fewer than the vaccines Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and I received as children in the early 1950s,” Offit says.

Experts are especially alarmed that the CDC is investigating the possibility of splitting up the MMR vaccine, which protects children against measles, mumps and rubella in one shot. Vaccine advocates like Offit say giving children three separate shots would mean more trips to the doctor and more needles. They are concerned that inevitably more children will remain unvaccinated. Advocates say it will take years to develop new, tailored approaches.

Doctor Jesse GoodmanA Georgetown University vaccine expert who used to regulate vaccines at the Food and Drug Administration says, “It’s like if you had a really winning football team and you said, ‘Gee, we’re winning. We win every season. We win every game. Let's change everything we do.”