CDC Just Downgraded Several Vaccines for Kids: Here Are the Risks

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Source: MedPage Today

Original: https://www.medpagetoday.com/special-reports/features/119433...

Published: Wed, 14 Jan 2026 17:24:27 -0500

The CDC has reduced the number of vaccines recommended for all children from 17 to 11 for pathogens such as measles, mumps, and others.[2][3] Other vaccines, including influenza, hepatitis A, meningitis, rotavirus, and RSV, are now only given to high-risk children or after a joint decision by parents and doctors.[1][2][4] The change followed a December 2025 presidential memorandum that called for comparisons with countries such as Denmark, Japan and Germany.[3][5] These vaccines remain part of the immunization schedule and are covered by insurance companies and Medicaid.[2][3] In the 2024-2025 flu season, 289 children died in the US, most of them unvaccinated.[1][4] Last year, 289 children died from the flu, the most in more than a decade.[1] Experts warn that the change could lead to lower vaccination rates and higher rates of disease.[1][2] States mandate school vaccines, and many adhere to the old American Academy of Pediatrics schedule.[2]