Expert Opinion: What Changes to the Childhood Immunization Schedule Mean for Americans’ Health

By Kelly Jordan

Vaccinations are an integral part of the nation’s strategy to keep Americans safe and healthy, especially when it comes to protecting the most vulnerable populations from disease. Yesterday, Jim O’ Neill, acting director of the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) signed a decision memorandum ordering the CDC to adopt an updated vaccine schedule for the United States.

The childhood vaccination schedule exists to protect children at the ages when they are most vulnerable to specific infections and when vaccines work best—with vaccine timelines ranging from birth to age 18 on the schedule. Each vaccine recommendation was built on rigorous science and careful policy deliberation.

“This schedule matters because it provides a scientifically tested, nationally coordinated plan that ensures kids receive timely, safe, and effective protection against serious diseases,” says Ben Lopman, PhD, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Rollins School of Public Health. “Last year, Secretary Kennedy eroded the credibility of the Advisory Council on Immunization Practices. The Department of Health and Human Services has now gone one step further, effectively stripping its role as the nation’s vaccine advisory committee.”

The Updated Vaccine Schedule

The adjusted schedule no longer universally recommends vaccines for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rotavirus, meningococcal disease, influenza, and COVID-19 for all children. Instead, it recategorizes them as recommended for “high-risk groups” (a broad, undefined group) and suggests others make their decisions about those vaccines in partnership with their providers.

Vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, Haemophilus influenzae type B, pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus (HPV), and varicella remain categorized as recommended for all children. Insurance will continue to cover the cost of all vaccines on the schedule without cost-sharing, regardless of how they are categorized.

Expert Insights

To help parse through what these changes mean for public health, Lopman answered a few questions about what a revised schedule may look like in practice and how it could affect Americans’ health.

What would you say to parents or teens who are seeing these changes and wondering about the safety or efficacy of the vaccines that are no longer recommended for all children? 

I’d reassure them that removing vaccines from the schedule doesn’t mean they’ve become unsafe or ineffective—there’s no new evidence suggesting any safety or efficacy concerns. This shift reflects a political decision that runs counter to the views of vaccine scientists and public health experts.

How quickly could we potentially see health impacts from these changes?

We’re already seeing the effects of falling coverage—look at what’s happening with whooping cough and measles. We could start to see rising incidence of additional diseases like rotavirus diarrhea as soon as this year. It’s clear—this policy will result in fewer kids vaccinated and more kids sick, hospitalized, and dead.

Of the vaccines that are no longer universally recommended, does one disease worry you more than the rest? If so, why?

Before rotavirus vaccines, about 50,000 U.S. children were hospitalized each year with severe diarrhea. Vaccination cut that burden by 80–90%, and watching those preventable hospitalizations rise again would be an entirely unnecessary tragedy for those babies and their parents.

What advice are you offering to friends who are wondering what to do for their kids? 

For parents who’ve already vaccinated their kids, there’s no reason for concern—their children remain protected by the immunity those vaccines provide. For those who haven’t yet vaccinated, nothing has changed about our understanding that these vaccines are safe and effective. They should still vaccinate their kids, and the vaccines will remain available. What worries me most is the added burden this shift places on parents, who now have to navigate more confusion and uncertainty around decisions that should be straightforward.

Related Links 

2025 Recommended Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule for Ages 18 Years or Younger - American Academy of Pediatrics
ACIP Changed Hepatitis B Birth Dose Recommendations. Now What?