The federal government scaled back its recommended childhood vaccines, sidelining six that have safeguarded millions from serious diseases, long-term disability, and death.
Just three of those that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it will no longer routinely recommend — against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and rotavirus — have prevented nearly 2 million hospitalizations and 90,000 deaths in the past 30 years, according to the CDC’s own publications.
Federal and private insurance will still cover the vaccines.
Experts on childhood disease were baffled by the change, which the Department of Health and Human Services said followed “a scientific review of the underlying science.”
The vaccines are “held to a safety standard higher than any other medical intervention that we have,” said Lori Handy, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “The value of routine recommendations is that it really helps the public understand that this has been vetted upside down and backwards in every which way.”
Public health officials say the guidance puts the onus on parents to research each vaccine and its importance. Here’s what they prevent:
RSV. Respiratory syncytial virus is the most common cause of hospitalization for infants in the U.S. It spreads in fall and winter, producing cold-like symptoms and causing tens of thousands of hospitalizations and hundreds of deaths yearly.
Hepatitis A. Hepatitis A vaccination, recommended for all toddlers since 2006, has led to a more than 90% drop in the disease since 1996. The foodborne virus, which causes a wretched illness, still plagues adults, particularly people who are homeless or abuse drugs or alcohol, with 1,648 cases and 85 deaths reported in 2023.
Hepatitis B. The disease causes liver cancer, cirrhosis, and other serious illnesses and is particularly dangerous when contracted by babies and young children. The hepatitis B virus is transmitted through blood and other bodily fluids, even in microscopic amounts, and can survive on surfaces for a week. From 1990 to 2019, vaccination resulted in a 99% decline in reported cases of acute hepatitis B among children and teens. Liver cancer among American children also plummeted with universal childhood vaccination.
Rotavirus. Before routine administration of the current rotavirus vaccines began in 2006, 70,000 young children were hospitalized and 50 died yearly from the virus, known as “winter vomiting syndrome,” said Sean O’Leary, a University of Colorado pediatrician. “It was a miserable disease that we hardly see anymore.”
Meningococcal disease. About 600 to 1,000 U.S. cases of meningococcal disease are reported yearly, killing more than 10% of those it sickens and leaving 1 in 5 survivors with a disability.
Flu. The virus has killed hundreds of children in recent years, though it tends to be much more severe in older adults.
