The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has made a significant change to its childhood vaccine recommendations, reducing the number of universally recommended vaccines from 17 to 11. This decision has sparked debate among health experts, with some warning it could lead to a rise in preventable illnesses. The vaccines being removed from the universal recommendation list include those for rotavirus, influenza, meningococcal disease, and hepatitis A, which will now be recommended only for high-risk groups or through shared clinical decision-making between doctors and parents.
The CDC maintains that insurance will still cover these vaccines, and families won’t have to pay out-of-pocket. However, experts worry that the change will cause confusion among parents and lead to decreased vaccination rates. The affected vaccines have prevented nearly 2 million hospitalizations and over 90,000 deaths in the past 30 years. The move has been criticized by some as a departure from evidence-based decision-making, with critics pointing to the influence of vaccine-skeptic leadership at the CDC.
