# Paring Back the Childhood Vaccine Schedule

> Directed CDC/HHS to 'realign' U.S. childhood vaccine recommendations with peer nations. Under HHS Secretary Robert F.

Donald Trump · Healthcare · Executive Order · EO 14409 · Jun 2, 2026
Official record: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2026-11415

## What happened

Directed CDC/HHS to 'realign' U.S. childhood vaccine recommendations with peer nations. Under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — who had replaced the entire CDC advisory committee (ACIP) — the recommended schedule was cut from 17 to 11 diseases, dropping routine newborn hepatitis B and COVID-19 recommendations.

## How it happened

Executive order directing a review, implemented by a reconstituted ACIP and CDC schedule changes in late 2025/early 2026.

## Documented impact

- [negative / substantiated] Reversed long-standing, evidence-based immunization guidance over medical objections. — The American Academy of Pediatrics and other groups sued; a federal judge blocked steps. Public-health experts warned that dropping newborn hepatitis B and COVID recommendations risks resurgent disease.
- [negative / substantiated] Decisions made by a panel of vaccine skeptics after an opaque review. — RFK Jr. ousted all 17 prior ACIP members and installed allies; critics say the schedule was cut despite decades of safety data.
- [positive / contested] Supporters frame it as aligning with peer nations and respecting parental choice. — The administration argued the U.S. recommended more childhood vaccines than countries like Denmark and emphasized 'informed consent.'

## Sources

- [Federal Register: EO 14409](https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2026-11415)
- [AJMC: schedule cut from 17 to 11 diseases](https://www.ajmc.com/view/cdc-reduces-us-childhood-immunization-schedule-from-17-to-11-diseases)
- [Washington Post: ACIP and hepatitis B](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/12/05/acip-childhood-immunization-schedule-hepatitis-b/)

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Canonical: https://eo.alanwizemann.com/eo/trump/paring-back-the-childhood-vaccine-schedule