On January 5th, the Trump Administration and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., dramatically reduced the number and type of vaccines recommended for U.S. children. Leading medical groups have stated that these changes will weaken protections for children against half a dozen diseases. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention is now ordered to recommend that all children be vaccinated against only 11 diseases. Vaccination is no longer recommended for flu, rotavirus, some forms of meningitis, RSV, hepatitis A and hepatitis B.
The new recommendations could not come at a worse time. Data shows a surge of sickness due to the flu in 45 states across the country, the highest number of cases in the last 30 years. Around 5,000 people have died from complications associated with the flu so far this season, including nine children. Last winter, 280 children died from the flu, the most since 2009.
We are also in the middle of the worst outbreak of measles since 2000 (when it was declared eradicated in the U.S.)
Between January 1, 2025, and January 12, 2026, 2,147 confirmed cases have been documented.
Whooping cough (pertussis) is also on the rise across the country and presents a serious risk to infants and young children. Both of these vaccines are still on the recommended list, but recent changes and clear anti-vaccine messaging coming from the federal government are likely to weaken vaccine uptake in general. In fact, vaccination rates across the U.S. are decreasing, according to data, and child exemptions for kindergarteners are increasing, 3.6% in 2025, up from 3.3% in 2024.
These new regulations fly in the face of decades of research and best practices by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccine scientists, medical providers. They do nothing but confuse and misdirect parents. Parents are expected to decide on their own — or with a provider, if they have one — if and for what they will vaccinate their children. Their children, unable to advocate for themselves, will be the victims of unnecessary illness, hospitalizations and even death without routine vaccination.
Kennedy stated that “this decision protects children, respects families and rebuilds trust in public health,” on Monday. In reality, it will do the opposite. The damage to quality of life and health outcomes for children in this country will be terrible.
Let me be clear: vaccines are being used as a political tool by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Trump Administration to create fear and distrust of medical science and weaken public health. What started as a reaction to COVD-19 vaccines that were developed recently has spread to other vaccines that have been widely accepted as safe and effective for years. These changes were made without public discussion or a transparent review and consideration of scientific data. Decision-making about vaccines is personal, that’s true, but those decisions should be made based on facts, not personal beliefs that are scientifically baseless.