Day care illnesses may rise after CDC narrows childhood vaccine schedule

The CDC announced changes that reduce recommended routine childhood vaccinations from 17 to 11 diseases and removed broad recommendations for illnesses including flu, hepatitis A, rotavirus, and meningitis; several public health groups and some states have rejected the new guidance.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a change to the childhood vaccine schedule that reduces recommended routine protections from 17 diseases to 11. The announcement followed a presidential memorandum directing the CDC and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, identified in the article as RFK Jr., to align U.S. recommendations with certain peer countries. Several public health groups and some states have publicly rejected the new guidance and responses vary across jurisdictions. Key points: - The CDC's updated recommendations removed broad guidance for immunization against illnesses including flu, hepatitis A, rotavirus, and meningitis. - The change was issued after a presidential memorandum directing alignment with practices in some peer countries, as reported in the article. - The American Academy of Pediatrics and other public health experts continue to recommend the prior, evidence-backed schedule, according to the article. - Some states, including New York, Maryland, and Oregon, have said they will not adopt the CDC's new recommendations for school and day care entry. Summary: Public health groups and pediatric experts remain aligned with the previous, evidence-backed vaccine schedule, and state responses are already diverging. The national procedural pathway and next federal steps are undetermined at this time.