Tag

Immunization

All articles tagged with #immunization

Don't Copy Denmark: The U.S. Needs Its Own Vaccine Schedule
health-policy19 days ago

Don't Copy Denmark: The U.S. Needs Its Own Vaccine Schedule

A STAT opinion piece argues that CDC’s newly modeled childhood vaccine schedule—which mirrors Denmark and removes vaccines like hepatitis B, rotavirus, meningitis, and varicella from routine use—risks preventable disease in American children. The author, drawing on experience in Denmark, contends the U.S. health system’s size and fragmentation require a distinct, comprehensive schedule, and warns that abandoning vaccines could lead to outbreaks and serious illnesses, despite Denmark’s centralized care. He defends the American Academy of Pediatrics schedule and urges the U.S. to lead rather than imitate foreign policies.

Pertussis Resurgence: Vaccination Remains the Best Shield
your-health21 days ago

Pertussis Resurgence: Vaccination Remains the Best Shield

Pertussis (whooping cough) is resurging nationwide and in California, with infant cases up by 54% in the first three quarters of 2025. The illness progresses in three phases and can cause severe complications, especially in babies under six months. Vaccination—DTaP in early childhood, TDap boosters for teens and adults, and vaccination during pregnancy—remains the safest, most effective defense and is key to achieving herd immunity. Antibiotics help reduce contagiousness when given early but don’t reliably shorten illness if started late. California’s AB 144 ensures the pediatric vaccine schedule remains in place.

Florida bill would broaden vaccine exemptions while preserving key school vaccines
politics24 days ago

Florida bill would broaden vaccine exemptions while preserving key school vaccines

Florida Republicans advanced a bill to broaden parental vaccine exemptions (adding a conscience-based opt-out) while preserving mandatory vaccines for MMR, DTaP, and polio, and it would require providers to discuss risks and benefits with parents. The 6-4 health policy committee vote signals a split in the GOP as Surgeon General Ladapo’s broader anti-vaccine agenda faces pushback, while the state health department is weighing potential removal of several non-mandated vaccines.

Families Rework Immunization Plans Amid Splintered Guidance
health-policy27 days ago

Families Rework Immunization Plans Amid Splintered Guidance

With major shifts in federal vaccine guidance—six diseases removed from routine schedules and an advisory panel head suggesting measles and polio vaccines could be optional—parents are scrambling to protect their children, delaying vaccines, switching pediatricians, or vaccinating earlier, even as measles and whooping cough infections rise across the country.

AAP Reaffirms Science-Based Childhood Vaccines, Diverging From RFK Jr.'s CDC Reforms
health29 days ago

AAP Reaffirms Science-Based Childhood Vaccines, Diverging From RFK Jr.'s CDC Reforms

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), backed by 12 medical groups, released a science-based childhood vaccine schedule that preserves the vaccines previously endorsed by the CDC and maintains a two-dose HPV plan for ages 9–12, contrasting with RFK Jr.’s push to shrink the immunization slate toward a Denmark-like list of about 10 diseases (and with the Trump administration’s past shifts). The CDC has trimmed vaccines from 18 to 11 diseases, removed the COVID vaccine from routine schedules, and some states are resisting these changes, including lawsuits challenging policy shifts. Measles resurgence and questions about polio vaccination loom as the vaccine policy debate continues.

Pediatricians urge adherence to the traditional vaccine timetable amid federal changes
health29 days ago

Pediatricians urge adherence to the traditional vaccine timetable amid federal changes

After years of near-total alignment, U.S. public health policy is splitting: the Department of Health and Human Services moved to cut vaccines on the CDC schedule from 17 diseases to 11 and reversed its COVID-19 vaccine guidance, while the American Academy of Pediatrics released its own guidelines urging continued routine immunization for 18 diseases (including Hepatitis A/B, flu, RSV, and COVID in high-risk groups). California backs the AAP line, and ongoing disputes over HPV dosing (AAP: start at 9–12 with two doses; CDC: 11–12 with one) and the long-standing MMRV combo shot reflect broader clashes. The AAP has even filed suit against HHS over Kennedy-era changes, and data interruptions at the CDC are adding to concerns about evidence-based vaccine policy.}} ,{

Pediatricians push broader vaccine schedule, bucking Trump-era plan
health1 month ago

Pediatricians push broader vaccine schedule, bucking Trump-era plan

The American Academy of Pediatrics released updated immunization guidance covering 18 diseases, opposing the Trump administration’s slimmed-down 11-shot schedule and signaling a rift between medical groups and federal policy; the plan continues broad vaccination for RSV, hepatitis A/B, rotavirus, influenza, meningococcal disease, measles and pertussis, and notes ongoing measles outbreaks with over 2,200 cases.

UK Loses Measles Elimination Status Amid 2024 Outbreaks and Vaccination Gaps
health1 month ago

UK Loses Measles Elimination Status Amid 2024 Outbreaks and Vaccination Gaps

The World Health Organization has announced that the UK no longer meets the measles elimination criteria due to a surge in cases in 2024 (about 3,600 suspected cases, with more than 1,000 cases in 2023 as well). Elimination requires no sustained transmission, which is unlikely while vaccination uptake remains below the 95% herd-immunity threshold; end-2024 coverage was around 92% for the first MMRV dose and just under 85% for the second. The NHS is expanding access—including an earlier second dose at 18 months—and urging catch-up vaccinations as health officials warn that lower uptake allows infections to rebound. Experts stress the need for easier access and correcting vaccine misinformation to restore elimination goals.

AAP Vaccine Guidance Gains Ground as CDC Schedule Faces Pushback
health1 month ago

AAP Vaccine Guidance Gains Ground as CDC Schedule Faces Pushback

The American Academy of Pediatrics released updated childhood vaccination guidelines, including a RSV vaccine, and many doctors and an increasing number of states are following the AAP guidance over the CDC’s revised schedule. Officials say the science is the same, but the policy shift—with about 28 states reportedly deviating from federal guidance by Jan 20—signals a major change in public health strategy and trust dynamics, as clinicians emphasize following established pediatric recommendations and informing families.

Vaccination Policy Under 'Shared Decision-Making' Sparks Debate
health1 month ago

Vaccination Policy Under 'Shared Decision-Making' Sparks Debate

STAT argues that federal use of 'shared decision-making' in vaccine guidance risks misrepresenting the strength of evidence, shifting emphasis to individual choice in matters of public health, and undermining trust. Experts say SDM is about clinician-patient collaboration informed by evidence, not a license to downplay clearly beneficial vaccines; the language echoes past policy shifts (e.g., 'should' vs 'may') and could influence state rule-making and vaccination uptake.

Medical associations sue to block CDC’s updated childhood vaccine schedule
health1 month ago

Medical associations sue to block CDC’s updated childhood vaccine schedule

Seven major medical groups filed a federal lawsuit to overturn the CDC’s updated childhood vaccine schedule, arguing the revisions—narrowing vaccines for meningococcal disease, hepatitis B and hepatitis A and shifting flu, COVID-19 and rotavirus vaccines to shared decision‑making—were made without new safety data and could harm public health. They seek to restore the schedule to its 2025 level and halt ACIP meetings, accusing Kennedy‑appointed advisers of bias; HHS says the ACIP process is lawful and vaccines will still be covered by insurers. The suit is part of a broader challenge to COVID-19 vaccine guidance and reflects ongoing tensions over vaccine policy.

Measles Outbreak Surges as Vaccine Skepticism Becomes Focal Point
politics1 month ago

Measles Outbreak Surges as Vaccine Skepticism Becomes Focal Point

Measles cases have skyrocketed in South Carolina, with 558 total infections since October and 124 new cases in the past week as the outbreak spreads to three other states; officials say most cases are among unvaccinated individuals and cite waning MMR vaccination rates. The surge comes amid RFK Jr.’s overhaul of the U.S. childhood immunization schedule, which does not cut the MMR vaccine but has intensified vaccine-safety debates and potentially fed declines in vaccination rates. Health authorities are urging parents to vaccinate their children promptly to restore herd immunity as the outbreak worsens.

Debunking Vaccine Myths: Evidence-Based Rebuttals for Parents
health1 month ago

Debunking Vaccine Myths: Evidence-Based Rebuttals for Parents

A CIDRAP op-ed surveys the most persistent vaccine myths—testing methods, comparisons between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, alleged toxic ingredients, and the idea of 'too many, too soon'—and argues these claims collapse under extensive randomized trials and population studies; the piece highlights placebo- and adjuvant-containing controls, real-world safety data showing no link to autism or other conditions, and the immune system’s capacity to handle the vaccine antigen load, while noting rising measles risks and promising more myth-busting in Part 2.