{"id":12853428,"date":"2026-01-06T16:16:40","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T21:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.philstockworld.com\/?p=12853428"},"modified":"2026-01-07T00:04:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T05:04:20","slug":"rfk-jr-guts-the-us-childhood-vaccine-schedule-despite-its-decades-long-safety-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.philstockworld.com\/2026\/01\/06\/rfk-jr-guts-the-us-childhood-vaccine-schedule-despite-its-decades-long-safety-record\/","title":{"rendered":"RFK Jr. guts the US childhood vaccine schedule despite its decades-long safety record"},"content":{"rendered":"

RFK Jr. guts the US childhood vaccine schedule despite its decades-long<\/span> safety record<\/h2>\n

By Jake Scott<\/a>, Stanford University<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

The Trump administration\u2019s overhauling of the decades-old childhood vaccination schedule, announced by federal health officials on Jan. 5, 2026<\/a>, has raised alarm among public health experts and pediatricians.<\/p>\n

The U.S. childhood immunization schedule<\/a>, the grid of colored bars pediatricians share with parents, recommends a set of vaccines given from birth through adolescence to prevent a range of serious infections. The basic structure has been in place since 1995, when federal health officials and medical organizations first issued a unified national standard<\/a>, though new vaccines have been added regularly as science advanced.<\/p>\n

That schedule is now being dismantled.<\/p>\n

In all, the sweeping change reduces the universally recommended childhood vaccines from 17 to 11<\/a>. It moves vaccines against rotavirus, influenza, hepatitis A, hepatitis B and meningococcal disease from routine recommendations to \u201cshared clinical decision-making,\u201d a category that shifts responsibility for initiating vaccination from the health care system to individual families.<\/p>\n

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has cast doubt on vaccine safety for decades<\/a>, justified these changes by citing a 33-page assessment<\/a> comparing the U.S. schedule to Denmark\u2019s<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But the two countries differ in important ways. Denmark has 6 million people, universal health care and a national registry that tracks every patient<\/a>. In contrast, the U.S. has 330 million people, 27 million uninsured and a system where millions move between providers.<\/p>\n

These changes follow the CDC\u2019s decision in December 2025 to drop a long-held recommendation<\/a> that all newborns be vaccinated against hepatitis B, despite no new evidence that questions the vaccine\u2019s long-standing safety record.<\/p>\n