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Summarised by Centrist
President Donald Trump has directed the US Department of Health and Human Services to fast-track a “comprehensive evaluation” of the American childhood immunisation schedule.
The order came shortly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee voted to end its longstanding recommendation that all newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.
Trump criticised the US approach as an “outlier” and said the US schedule, which recommends vaccination for 18 diseases, requires far more doses than comparable high-income countries.
His memorandum instructs Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the CDC to review international best practices and, if those systems are found to produce superior outcomes, align US recommendations with those of countries such as Denmark, Japan, and Germany.
Last week’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) heard presentations comparing health outcomes across countries and raised questions about the cumulative effect of the current schedule, an issue ACIP formally began studying in June.
ACIP member Retsef Levi said vaccine risks “are currently not well understood” and require further research.
The committee’s vote to drop the universal Hep B-at-birth recommendation now awaits sign-off from the acting CDC director. According to The Washington Post, the decision could be an early sign of wider changes.
Kennedy dismissed concerns that the committee has become politicised and risks undermining confidence in vaccines, saying he restructured the panel to restore independence and end “corporate influence” over vaccine policy.
