Major Changes To Childhood Vaccine Schedule Announced By CDC: What To Know In NY

NEW YORK — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took the unprecedented step Monday of dropping the number of vaccines it recommends for every child, adopting a policy that gives New York parents choice but very little guidance.

Officials said the overhaul to the federal vaccine schedule won't result in any families losing access or insurance coverage for vaccines, but medical experts slammed the move, saying it could lead to reduced uptake of important vaccinations and increase disease.

According to the New York State Department of Health, vaccine requirements for school have included:

For day care, Pre-K and school attendance:

• Diphtheria and Tetanus toxoid-containing vaccine and Pertussis vaccine (DTaP or Tdap)
• Hepatitis B vaccine
• Measles, Mumps and Rubella vaccine (MMR)
• Polio vaccine
• Varicella (Chickenpox) vaccine

Additional vaccines required for middle and high school:

• Tdap vaccine for Grades 6 to 12
• Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY) for Grades 7-12
  • Students in Grade 12 need an additional booster dose of MenACWY on or after their 16th birthday

Additional vaccines required for day care and Pre-K:

• Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine (HiB)
• Pneumococcal Conjugate vaccine (PCV

According to NBC News, in Denmark, vaccines for the flu, Covid, RSV, chickenpox, hepatitis A, rotavirus and meningitis are not included in the childhood roster of shots.

The CDC said it would continue to recommend that all children get vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, polio, pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), pneumococcal disease, HPV and chickenpox, NBC added. According to NBC, some shots would be just for "high-risk" groups, including RSV, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, dengue and two types of bacterial meningitis; and vaccines recommended for shared clinical-decision making would include rotavirus, COVID, the flu, hepatitis A, hepatitis B and bacterial meningitis, the outlet reported.

The new vaccine schedule is similar to Denmark’s and recommends children get vaccines for 11 diseases, compared with the 18 the CDC previously recommended. The changes are effective immediately.

The change, which officials acknowledged was made without input from an advisory committee that typically consults on the vaccine schedule, came after President Donald Trump in December asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to review how peer nations approach vaccine recommendations and consider revising its guidance to align with theirs.

HHS said its comparison to 20 peer nations found that the U.S. was an "outlier" in both the number of vaccinations and the number of doses it recommended to all children. Officials with the agency framed the change as a way to increase public trust by recommending only the most important vaccinations for children to receive.

“This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement Monday.

Medical experts disagreed, saying the change without public discussion or a transparent review of the data would put children at risk.

“Abandoning recommendations for vaccines that prevent influenza, hepatitis and rotavirus, and changing the recommendation for HPV without a public process to weigh the risks and benefits, will lead to more hospitalizations and preventable deaths among American children,” said Michael Osterholm of the Vaccine Integrity Project, based at the University of Minnesota.

In September, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she took steps to protect vaccine access across New York State.

With the availability of COVID shots under "imminent threat," Hochul signed an executive order that would allow pharmacists to administer COVID vaccines, providing access for all New Yorkers who wish to be vaccinated. The executive order was extended again recently until January 23 while a long-term legislative solution was developed to address access to all vaccines in order to combat the Trump administration’s "misguided attack" on immunization and healthcare, she said..

“I promised New Yorkers that their family would be my fight. In the absence of federal leadership, we must do everything we can to ensure that New Yorkers have access to the vaccines and preventative healthcare they have come to rely on,” Hochul said. “By signing this executive order, we are sending a clear message that when Washington Republicans play politics with public health, New Yorkers can still get the care they need, close to home, from trusted providers in their own communities.”

New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said, at the time:
"Governor Hochul’s executive order provides access to the COVID vaccine for New Yorkers who choose to get vaccinated, sets us up for a smoother transition to the updated 2025 to 26 vaccine and restores pharmacies as a vital part of our vaccination network. While New York State does not require COVID vaccines, vaccination remains one of the most effective tools we have to prevent serious illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID."

Most pharmacies in New York rely on “standing orders” — non-patient-specific prescriptions that give them authority to administer vaccines to broad groups of people. These standing orders are typically based on recommendations from the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Just this summer, the federal government pulled more than $500 million in mRNA vaccine funding — undoing what had once been considered a signature achievement of the first Trump Administration — creating further uncertainty around access, Hochul said.

In June, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaced a majority of ACIP members with individuals known to oppose vaccination, Hochul said.

Without that federal guidance, many pharmacies in New York began restricting access to the COVID vaccine, particularly for:

• Children ages 3–17
• Pregnant people
• Adults under age 65 without underlying conditions.

The executive order, she said, is part of Hochul's long-term strategy to protect access to vaccinations in New York. The governor said she would begin working with the Legislature on a legislative solution that would ensure permanent and continuing access to vaccines, including administration of vaccines by health care professionals, school immunization schedules, and insurance coverage of vaccines.

New York is also working in coordination with — and helping to lead — a regional multi-state public health collaboration among Northeast states, which brings together public health leaders across the region to develop evidence-based recommendations and approaches on vaccination, disease surveillance, and emergency preparedness, Hochul said. The collaborative also supports state public health laboratories in sharing resources and expertise to strengthen regional readiness.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.