CDC Slashes Universal Vaccine Recommendations
(January 7, 2026)
As flu cases in the U.S. are rising dramatically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, overseen by the Trump Administration’s Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a noted vaccine skeptic, announced that it is endorsing fewer routinely-recommended vaccinations for all children.
As part of the new schedule, HHS will no longer broadly recommend influenza, COVID-19, rotavirus, and other previously recommended immunizations. It now recommends 11 vaccines for all children, down from previously recommending vaccinations to protect against 18 different diseases in 2024.
That’s happening as flu cases in the U.S. have reached their highest levels since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data from the CDC, with children and teenagers among the worst affected.
