The CDC decreased the number of routine vaccines recommended for children from 17 to 11 and increased or recategorized the other vaccines on the vaccine schedule to be given on a case-by-case basis, Thomas said.
“The new recommendations don’t reflect the careful deliberation and evidence-based approach that has characterized the development of the vaccine schedule in the past over the past six decades that we’ve had a vaccine schedule for children in the United States,” Thomas said.
What’s different
The change is effective immediately, meaning that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will now recommend that all children get vaccinated against 11 diseases.
What’s no longer broadly recommended is protection against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis or RSV. Instead, protections against those diseases are only recommended for certain groups deemed high risk, or when doctors recommend them in what’s called “shared decision-making,” according to the Associated Press.
“It’s greatly concerning because this is a high-stakes shift in how we provide protection to our kids and weakening the childhood vaccine schedule in this way by making some of them not routine, risk lowering our vaccination rates and increasing the likelihood of an outbreak of preventable and sometimes deadly diseases,” Thomas said.
Ohio started off this new year with a new measles outbreak following three children, who were not vaccinated, contracting the illness, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
“We know that it can be confusing when things like this happen for parents to sort through conflicting recommendations,” Thomas said. “Parents deserve to have accurate, credible information in order to make choices that keep their children healthy, and our priority is to ensure that families have clear information and continue to access to vaccines.”
What led to this
“They were not changes that were based on new evidence, and we continue to have good evidence of safety and effectiveness of our vaccines,” Thomas said.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the overhaul was in response to a request from President Donald Trump in December. Trump asked the agency to review how peer nations approach vaccine recommendations and consider revising U.S. guidance accordingly.
When this new schedule was adopted and brought forth by the CDC, it was done so in comparison with the vaccination schedule of Denmark, Thomas said.
“Denmark has a lot fewer barriers to care,” Thomas said. “They have universal health care access. They have parental leave for the first year of a child’s life. They have records that maintain connection between providers and parents and care received at various different facilities.”
Health care in the U.S. is more fragmented, she said, and parents are up against more obstacles compared to families in other countries like Denmark.
“It is very difficult for parents to find time to take off work to take their children to receive care. We know a lot of parents are normally having difficulty with figuring out how to make that happen,” Thomas said.
Reducing the number of recommended vaccinations could lead to confusion or to parents believing certain vaccinations are not as important, she said.
“That is just not the case. All of these vaccines have been proven to be safe and effective,” Thomas said.
Parents should consult with pediatricians, ODH director says
ODH suggested last week that there were no great changes in the recommendations.
“Key portions of the new CDC vaccine schedule have, in fact, remained essentially unchanged,” said Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, ODH director. “...It’s a list that interestingly aligns pretty well with the longstanding list of vaccines that are required for school here in Ohio.”
Ohio revised code requires students to be fully protected against 10 vaccine-preventable diseases, including: diphtheria, hepatitis B, measles, meningococcal (meningitis), mumps, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, rubella, tetanus and varicella.
The CDC’s recommendations don’t change what the Ohio revised code requires, but differences in what Ohio requires and what the CDC recommends mainly for high-risk patients or through shared clinical decision-making include hepatitis B and meningitis.
“I want to underline that no one is saying that your child can’t get any of these vaccines, nor that these are not good vaccines. They are good vaccines, and pediatricians will almost certainly will continue to recommend these vaccines to their patients, and insurance companies are still required to cover them without cost sharing,” Vanderhoff said.
Parents should look to their child’s doctor to decide which vaccines their child should get, he said.
“All the controversy swirling around this issue has unfortunately obscured a very, very important point around which I believe there’s a pretty broad consensus, and namely that the pediatric vaccinations have always been intended, and therefore should always occur, in the context of an informed parental decision,” Vanderhoff said.
Parents should understand the protective benefits of vaccinations, along with their potential side effects, he said.
“Your child’s doctor knows your child’s individual health care needs the best and is well situated to help you and guide you in making the best decision for your child,” Vanderhoff said.
Parents can get their children vaccinated at a number of different locations, such as at their pediatrician’s office, local pharmacies like Walgreens or CVS, community health clinics, public health departments and specialized clinics with options for uninsured/underinsured families through programs like the federal Vaccines for Children program.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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