Major Changes To Childhood Vaccine Schedule Announced By CDC: What To Know In IL

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took the unprecedented step Monday of dropping the number of vaccines it recommends for every child, adopting a policy that gives Illinois parents choice but very little guidance.

Officials said the overhaul to the federal vaccine schedule won't result in any families losing access or insurance coverage for vaccines, but medical experts slammed the move, saying it could lead to reduced uptake of important vaccinations and increase disease.

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At the state level, the Illinois Department of Public Health still recommends that all newborns receive a Hepatitis B vaccine at birth.

For students admitted at TK/K-12 schools, the state requires that they receive the following vaccines:

• Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus - 4 doses
• Polio - 3 doses
• Measles - 2 doses
• Rubella - 2 doses
• Mumps - 2 doses
• Hepatitis B - 3 doses
• Haemophilus influenzae type b - 1 dose
• Invasive Pneumococcal Disease - 1 dose
• Varicella - 2 doses

For students in grades 6 to 12, the state requires they receive one dose of the meningococcal conjugate vaccine on or after their 11th birthday and then two doses of the vaccine on or after their 16th birthday.

The new national vaccine schedule is similar to Denmark’s and recommends children get vaccines for 11 diseases, compared with the 18 the CDC previously recommended. The changes are effective immediately.

The change, which officials acknowledged was made without input from an advisory committee that typically consults on the vaccine schedule, came after President Donald Trump in December asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to review how peer nations approach vaccine recommendations and consider revising its guidance to align with theirs.

HHS said its comparison to 20 peer nations found that the U.S. was an "outlier" in both the number of vaccinations and the number of doses it recommended to all children. Officials with the agency framed the change as a way to increase public trust by recommending only the most important vaccinations for children to receive.

“This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement Monday.

Medical experts disagreed, saying the change without public discussion or a transparent review of the data would put children at risk.

“Abandoning recommendations for vaccines that prevent influenza, hepatitis and rotavirus, and changing the recommendation for HPV without a public process to weigh the risks and benefits, will lead to more hospitalizations and preventable deaths among American children,” said Michael Osterholm of the Vaccine Integrity Project, based at the University of Minnesota.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.