Category: Health Policy
CDC staff ‘blindsided’ as child vaccine schedule unilaterally overhauled
Washington Post The Trump administration took unprecedented steps to recommend fewer vaccines for children without extensive consultations with career scientists. Vaccine experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were blindsided by a top deputy toHealth Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to unilaterally overhaul the childhood immunization schedule, according to current and former agency staff. […]
Jan 7, 2026
RFK Jr. guts the US childhood vaccine schedule despite its decades-long safety record
The Conversation The Trump administration’s overhauling of the decades-old childhood vaccination schedule, announced by federal health officials on Jan. 5, 2026, has raised alarm among public health experts and pediatricians. The U.S. childhood immunization schedule, the grid of colored bars pediatricians share with parents, recommends a set of vaccines given from birth through adolescence to prevent a […]
Jan 7, 2026
Kennedy Scales Back the Number of Vaccines Recommended for Children
NYT Federal health officials now recommend that children be routinely inoculated against 11 diseases, not 17, citing standards in other wealthy nations. Federal health officials on Monday announced dramatic revisions to the slate of vaccines recommended for American children, reducing the number of diseases prevented by routine shots to 11 from 17. Jim O’Neill, acting […]
Jan 7, 2026
How RFK Jr. upended the public health system
Washington Post Interviews with almost 100 people reveal how Kennedy, as health secretary, has reshaped the vaccine and broader public health infrastructure in less than a year. On his way to being confirmed as the nation’s top health official, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. promised lawmakers he would do nothing that “makes it difficult or discourages people from […]
Dec 30, 2025
In 2026, Kennedy’s MAHA vision gets put to the test. Here are 3 issues to watch
STAT In many ways, it’s been a banner year for chronic disease. America’s enduring ailments became a central theme of the Trump administration, with health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wielding his influence over the president. Trump created a commission focused on childhood chronic illnesses, which issued two reports on the matter. Statehouses across the country passed Make America […]
Dec 30, 2025
HHS cuts millions in grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics
NBC News The move is an escalation in the agency’s clash with the medical group, which is suing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy. The Department of Health and Human Services has terminated seven grants totaling millions of dollars to the American Academy of Pediatrics, escalating its confrontation with the group, which is suing Health […]
Dec 17, 2025
Panel Votes to Stop Recommending Hepatitis B Shots at Birth for Most Newborns
NYT In a move toward Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s goal of upending vaccine policy, the committee recommended delaying the shots for infants whose mothers test negative for the virus. A federal vaccine committee took a major step toward Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s goal of remaking the childhood vaccine schedule on Friday, […]
Dec 10, 2025
Lawmakers urge USDA to restore full avian flu surveillance
Ag Daily As U.S. poultry producers face a sharp resurgence of highly pathogenic avian influenza, a bipartisan coalition in Congress is urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to immediately restore full surveillance, reporting, and coordination efforts. The push comes amid more than 90 new detections in the last 30 days and over 1.6 million birds […]
Nov 26, 2025
What to know about the new CDC deputy director who has been critical of COVID vaccines
ABC News A top Louisiana health official has been appointed principal deputy director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). With no permanent director of the CDC, Dr. Ralph Abraham, Louisiana’s surgeon general, will be the highest ranked official at the agency with a medical degree. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. […]
Nov 26, 2025
RFK Jr.’s vaccine advisers add hurdle to getting covid shots
Washington Post CDC vaccine advisers on ACIP voted to recommend people consult a clinician before getting a coronavirus shot, shifting from a universal recommendation for people ages 6 months and older. A federal vaccine advisory panel unanimously voted Friday on a more restrictive approach to coronavirus vaccines by recommending that everyone consult a clinician before […]
Sep 24, 2025