The United States ended on Monday (January 5, 2026) its longstanding guidance that all children receive vaccines against flu and three other diseases, a sweeping change that advances one of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s long-term goals.
Public health experts warn the latest rollback could lead to preventable hospitalizations and deaths.
The action, approved by Acting Director Jim O’Neill of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention without the agency’s usual outside expert review, advances Mr. Kennedy’s campaign to pare back childhood vaccinations.
Last month President Donald Trump urged the U.S. to “align with other developed nations” by reducing the number of shots for children.
Mr. Kennedy, a prominent vaccine skeptic, has previously led efforts to drop universal recommendations for COVID-19 and hepatitis B shots for children, citing links to autism that scientists have repeatedly debunked.
