Under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Trump, the CDC has approved a significant reduction in childhood immunization recommendations, cutting them from 17 to 11 vaccines. This includes removing universal recommendations for vaccines like influenza, COVID-19, and hepatitis. These vaccines have now been categorized under “Shared Clinical Decision-making,” allowing parents and anti-vaccine advocates to bypass essential protections, potentially leading to increased disease outbreaks.
This move signals a major shift in public health policy, where scientific evidence is subordinated to ideological beliefs. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was purged of experts and replaced with ideologically aligned members, undermining public health’s scientific basis. The new vaccine schedule separates recommendations into three categories, effectively turning essential vaccines into optional choices, particularly for working-class families facing care barriers.
As a result of this policy shift, the U.S. has seen a resurgence in diseases like measles and one of the deadliest influenza seasons, even amid an ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The growing divide in vaccine access contributes to vulnerable populations, raising concerns about mass infection.
The reclassification of vaccines undermines lengthy public health achievements and presents a broader international threat, compromising global responses to pandemics. Statements from former CDC officials highlight the agency’s loss of scientific credibility, as public health institutions are being repurposed to favor political over scientific imperatives.
The implications are dire: the defense of public health now requires independent political mobilization to reclaim scientific integrity, as public health becomes increasingly aligned with anti-science ideologies. Without this mobilization, the consequences of dismantling public health systems threaten not just American lives but lives globally.
