The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a seismic shift in the childhood immunization schedule this month when it dropped recommendations for all children to be vaccinated against rotavirus, influenza, meningococcal disease, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), hepatitis A and hepatitis B.
The agency argued it was bringing the U.S. in line with other countries, like Denmark, which Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is fond of citing as a nation whose policies he'd like to emulate.
But the AAP, which represents about 67,000 pediatricians, kept these diseases on its recommended schedule along with the measles, mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine, which the CDC's vaccine advisory panel voted to delay last year.
The AAP has repeatedly found itself at odds with HHS under the leadership of Kennedy.
The organization boycotted a CDC vaccine advisory meeting last year, citing the removal of itself and other liaison organizations from committee work groups. And it is currently engaged in litigation against HHS over the stripping of funding grants and the vaccine committee, the actions of which it is seeking to reverse.
The Trump administration in December canceled $12 million in grants to the AAP, in what the organization argued was a "retaliatory" move for its outspoken opposition to Kennedy's changes. A federal judge earlier this month ordered the Trump administration to restore these funds.
"The updated CDC childhood schedule continues to protect children against serious diseases while aligning U.S. guidance with international norms. Many peer nations achieve high vaccination rates without mandates by relying on trust, education, and strong doctor-patient relationships, and HHS will work with states and clinicians to ensure families have clear, accurate information to make their own informed decisions," an HHS spokesperson told The Hill when reached for comment.
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