Michigan’s top health officials say the state’s parents should continue to follow the childhood immunization schedule recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued new guidelines this week reducing the number of vaccines it suggests most kids should get.
The AAP recommends that parents immunize their children against 17 different illnesses between birth and adolescence. As of earlier this week, that number also reflected federal health guidance.
But following a December directive from President Donald Trump, the CDC has now cut that to eleven. Gone is the recommendation for yearly flu and COVID shots, along with hepatitis A and B, rotavirus, and meningococcal disease.
The CDC argues that this puts the U.S. closer to peer developed countries in terms of its vaccine schedule.
“The assessment reviewed 20 peer, developed nations and found that the U.S. is a global outlier among developed nations in both the number of diseases addressed in its routine childhood vaccination schedule and the total number of recommended doses but does not have higher vaccination rates than such countries,” the CDC said in a statement accompanying the new recommendations.
But the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is urging parents to stick with the AAP-recommended schedule, noting that “the underlying scientific evidence remains unchanged.”
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive, said that families should still be able to access the full range of childhood immunizations as recommended by the AAP, though she noted that the changes “may create confusion for families and clinicians regarding school vaccine requirements, clinical workflows and the supply and use of combination vaccines.”
“MDHHS will continue to provide clear guidance, backed by science to help protect Michigan families,” Bagdasarian said.
The CDC’s changes to the recommended vaccine schedule guidelines reflect an increasingly skeptical take toward vaccines taken by federal health agencies under the leadership of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Trump administration. They argue that reducing the number of recommended vaccines could help bolster both vaccination rates and public trust in vaccines overall.
But Bagdasarian and other public health officials say there’s no need to change a regimen that has proven safe and effective. Last month, Bagdasarian issued a standing recommendation that health care providers and families to continue to follow the AAP guidelines.
“For decades, vaccines have played a critical role in the prevention and control of infectious diseases and significant reductions in childhood illnesses and fatalities,” Bagdasarian said. “We continue to stand by that recommendation.”
