[UPDATE: 7:56PM] In response to the federal announcement, New Jersey’s Acting Health Commissioner released a statement defending the importance of childhood vaccinations and criticizing the changes to the CDC immunization schedule.

“While the federal HHS’s announcement today continues to sow confusion among patients and providers alike, New Jersey is taking action to provide equitable access to vaccines, achieve community protection, and build sustained trust in vaccination,” the statement read.

The commissioner emphasized that vaccines remain “unequivocally, our most effective defense against vaccine-preventable illnesses,” noting that immunization schedules have played a significant role in transforming once-devastating diseases into preventable conditions.

“Federal efforts to reduce the number of vaccines recommended for all children in the United States are not supported by the available data nor the consensus of public health and medical experts,” the statement continued. “Instead, deterring participation in vaccination risks leaving children vulnerable to serious and preventable infections.”

Original story below:

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today they are reducing the number of vaccines it recommends for children, effective immediately.

With the change, the CDC-recommended list for children will now include 11 vaccines, down from the current list of 17.

Under the new recommendations, the CDC is no longer advising that all children receive vaccines for rotavirus, Covid-19, influenza, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A and hepatitis B. The CDC is instead advising that decisions about those shots be made by parents and their children’s healthcare providers.

“President Trump directed us to examine how other developed nations protect their children and to take action if they are doing better,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement.

“After an exhaustive review of the evidence, we are aligning the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with international consensus while strengthening transparency and informed consent. This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health.”

Kennedy has long sought to reduce the number of shots American children receive.

Although recommendations from the C.D.C. greatly influence state regulations, states, not the federal government, have the authority to mandate vaccinations.

Jooish News

Jooish News