Overview
- Attorneys general from 15 Democratic-led states announced litigation challenging the CDC’s narrowed childhood schedule, arguing it ignores decades of research and endangers public health.
- The January update reduced routinely recommended shots from about 17 to 11, removed universal hepatitis B for newborns, and shifted vaccines such as rotavirus and influenza to risk-based or shared decision-making; a CDC adviser also questioned polio guidance.
- The U.S. Health Department dismissed the suit as a public-relations move, and the complaint also targets changes under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., including a wholesale swap of a CDC vaccine advisory panel.
- CDC data show nearly 1,000 U.S. measles cases this year, with South Carolina reporting the largest cluster and 94% of patients unvaccinated or with unknown status, as kindergarten coverage has fallen to 92.5% nationwide below the 95% goal.
- In Germany, Bavarian health offices are investigating 27 practices over suspected false measles exemptions and falsified records, have formed a ‘Masernschutz’ network to coordinate checks, and report at least one physician’s arrest as verification gaps hamper enforcement.