Overview
- HHS and the CDC reduced routine childhood recommendations from 17 to 11 diseases, shifting influenza, COVID-19, rotavirus, RSV, hepatitis A and B, and some meningococcal vaccines to high‑risk or shared clinical decision-making categories.
- A coalition led by the American Academy of Pediatrics, joined by the American College of Physicians, the American Public Health Association and others, filed suit in federal court in Massachusetts to vacate the changes and bar the current ACIP from meeting.
- The complaint challenges Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s removal and replacement of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel and argues no new evidence justified weakening long‑standing recommendations.
- Minnesota and Massachusetts have announced they will follow broader AAP-style schedules, diverging from the federal guidance and adding to confusion for families and providers.
- HHS says insurers will continue covering vaccines removed from the universal list, yet clinicians report confusion and experts warn of increased preventable disease risk, with a preliminary injunction hearing set for Feb. 13.