Vaccine expert 'very concerned' after US cuts broad recommendation for four childhood vaccines

The United States ended on Monday (January 5) its longstanding guidance that all children receive vaccines against flu and three other diseases, a sweeping change that advances one of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s longterm goals.

Public health experts warn the latest rollback could lead to preventable hospitalizations and deaths.

The action, approved by Acting Director Jim O’Neill of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention without the agency’s usual outside expert review, advances Kennedy’s campaign to pare back childhood vaccinations.

Dr. Walter Orenstein, associate director of Emory University’s Emory Vaccine Center, said the policy change puts the public at risk.

“I am very concerned. Vaccines have played such a big role in enhancing the health of our population,” Orenstein said. “And I am very concerned that we may see resurgences of some of these diseases that could lead to severe health consequences.”

Last month President Donald Trump urged the U.S. to “align with other developed nations” by reducing the number of shots for children.

Kennedy, a prominent vaccine skeptic, has previously led efforts to drop universal recommendations for COVID-19 and hepatitis B shots for children, citing links to autism that scientists have repeatedly debunked.

The action removes the recommendation for rotavirus, influenza, meningococcal disease and hepatitis A, and states that parents should consult healthcare providers under what it calls shared clinical-decision-making.

Production: Evan Garcia/Reuters