Overview
- The department moved shots for hepatitis A and B, rotavirus, influenza, COVID-19, and meningococcal disease out of routine use into shared clinical decision-making or risk-based categories.
- Monoclonal antibody protection for RSV, previously described by pediatricians as a key seasonal tool, is no longer recommended for all infants.
- HHS leadership bypassed the CDC’s expert-led ACIP review in issuing the changes, departing from the long-standing transparent process.
- WHO immunization chief Kate O’Brien said she has not seen another country drop multiple established vaccines in this manner and noted HHS presented no data showing the prior schedule was unsafe.
- Officials frame the overhaul as aligning with peer nations, a rationale critics call a poor fit for the U.S. system, and the plan also reduces HPV vaccination to a single dose.