MADERA, Calif. – Valley Children’s Healthcare is one of many institutions across the country whose pediatricians will not follow new childhood vaccine recommendations published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Earlier this week, the CDC — which falls within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — scaled back the number of routine vaccinations it recommends for all children. Now, the agency recommends all children receive 11 vaccines, instead of 17.
Many vaccines that had previously been universally recommended — including those for rotavirus, hepatitis A and B, and meningococcal meningitis — are now more restricted. The CDC is recommending them only for either children categorized as high risk or those who consulted with a health care provider in a process referred to as "shared decision-making."
“President Trump directed us to examine how other developed nations protect their children and to take action if they are doing better,” Kennedy said in a HHS press release. “After an exhaustive review of the evidence, we are aligning the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with international consensus while strengthening transparency and informed consent. This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health.”
Health agencies across the country are speaking out against the decision — including the California Medical Association.
“The decision to weaken the childhood immunization schedule is misguided and dangerous,” wrote association president Dr. René Bravo. “As a pediatrician, I have seen firsthand how routine vaccinations save lives, prevent suffering, and protect entire communities. Compounding these concerns is a process that has lacked transparency, making it difficult for physicians and the public to understand the evidence and reasoning behind such a consequential change…Nationally, we need to put child health, medical expertise, and scientific integrity ahead of ideology.”
Last fall, California was one of four western states to break with CDC recommendations for seasonal vaccines including flu and RSV. California’s state leaders reaffirmed that collaboration on Friday.
“We recently launched the West Coast Health Alliance with our partners in Washington, Oregon, and Hawaii as a unified regional partnership to uphold scientific integrity in public health and protect residents from politically motivated federal decisions,” wrote leaders of California’s major public health agencies in a press release. “As part of this commitment, we are reaffirming that our states will continue to follow the vaccine schedule recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.”
Dr. Anne VanGarsse, Medical Director of Primary Care Pediatrics at Valley Children’s Hospital, confirmed that her hospital will also continue to follow previous vaccine guidelines.
“It's very disappointing that [the CDC] chose to take this truly non-science-based, non-research-, non-evidence-based approach,” she said. “For that reason, our group and many, many, many pediatricians are continuing to follow the American Academy of Pediatrics vaccine schedule, which was based upon the prior CDC vaccine schedule – which is truly evidence-based, science-backed, and has been shown to be efficacious for decades.”
Some of the viruses no longer recommended for routine vaccines, VanGarsse said, can be devastating — including meningococcal meningitis. She described patients with that disease as some of the sickest she’s ever seen.
“It's absolutely frequently fatal, and devastatingly so,” she said. “It's a horrific illness.”
Another vaccine no longer recommended is for rotavirus, which causes severe diarrhea. Diarrhea kills around a half a million children each year globally, according to the World Health Organization.
“And rotavirus is right up there as one of the top infectious agents, leading to those infectious diarrheas that kill children, in the world,” she said.
The CDC claims the U.S. recommends more vaccines than many similar wealthy, developed nations. Like Australia, France, Japan, the United Kingdom and Denmark.
But VanGarsse of Valley Children’s Hospital argued those other countries — using Denmark as an example — are not an apples-to-apples comparisons.
“You really can't compare a country with universal health care — with therefore ready access to health care — with a different climate, different travel patterns…different culture, different economy,” she said.
Still, no childhood vaccines are mandatory in the U.S. — and the list of shots required by public schools can vary from state to state. The CDC also confirmed that all childhood vaccines recommended to any children — even those only recommended for high-risk children — will continue to be covered by government-sponsored health insurance and insurance plans within the Affordable Care Act.
VanGarsse advised any parent with questions to talk to their pediatrician.
Editor's note: Valley Children’s Healthcare is a business sponsor of KVPR.
