In a landmark policy shift under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has dramatically revised its childhood immunization guidelines, reducing the number of routinely recommended vaccines from 17 to 10. The new schedule, announced Monday, maintains core protections against diseases like polio and measles but moves several others—including hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and COVID-19 vaccines—into a category based on individual risk assessment and “shared clinical decision-making” between physicians and parents.
The Department of Health and Human Services stated the overhaul followed an exhaustive comparative analysis, which identified the U.S. as a “global outlier” among 20 developed nations in both the number of diseases covered and the quantity of doses administered. Secretary Kennedy framed the change as a move to align American policy with international consensus, emphasizing that it “protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health” while strengthening transparency and informed consent.
This sweeping change is the latest in a series of revisions. It follows a recent controversial adjustment by a CDC panel to the hepatitis B vaccine timeline, delaying the first dose from within 24 hours of birth to two months of age for infants born to hepatitis B-negative mothers—a move the American Academy of Pediatrics condemned as “a dangerous move that will harm children.”
Despite the reduction in routinely recommended vaccines, insurance coverage is expected to continue for all vaccines that were on the schedule at the end of 2025 for the immediate future.