Kennedy issues new U.S. childhood vaccine schedule, cutting routine shots from 17 to 11

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and political appointees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a revised U.S. childhood vaccine schedule that reduces the number of diseases for which all children are routinely immunized from 17 to 11. The changes remove six vaccines from the routine schedule but leave them available to children with a health care provider’s approval; states, not the federal government, retain authority over day care and school immunization requirements.

The announcement surprised scientists at the C.D.C., outside advisers, major medical organizations and patient groups, and drew immediate condemnation from dozens of public health and medical organizations. Federal officials said they will probe vaccine timing, safety and ingredients, a stance the article says rested on false claims that clinical trials were never conducted or were inadequate.

Since taking office, Mr. Kennedy has fired and replaced the federal vaccine advisory committee; a December directive from President Trump urging alignment with peer countries prompted the agency to adopt a schedule that now most closely resembles Denmark’s, the report says. Public reactions included praise from anti‑vaccine allies and calls from more than 200 organizations for Congress to investigate the changes.

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Health, Robert Kennedy, Cdc, Vaccine Schedule, Hepatitis B, Del Bigtree