Complete Story
01/07/2026
HHS Childhood Vaccine Schedule Decision
Academy of Medicine of Cincinnati Statement on HHS Childhood Vaccine Schedule Decision
The Academy of Medicine of Cincinnati affirms its strong support for evidence-based immunization recommendations grounded in transparent scientific review and decades of data demonstrating dramatic reductions in vaccine-preventable illness, hospitalization, and death. These recommendations have protected children and families across our region for generations.
Overhauling the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule to reduce the number of universally recommended immunizations, without broad expert consensus or a transparent public process, raises serious concerns among physicians. While vaccines affected by these changes remain available and covered by insurance, altering how they are recommended also changes how they may be perceived by the public.
Universal recommendations have historically offered families clear, consistent expectations. Recommending immunizations solely through a shared decision-making approach may be misread as signaling that these vaccines are optional or less important, even though physicians rely on shared decision making every day to implement evidence-based care and informed consent. The Academy affirms that shared decision making is essential to ethical medical practice and patient consent, and our concern lies with how these schedule changes were developed and communicated, not with the physician-patient conversations that guide individualized care. The result may be confusion and diminished urgency around vaccines whose scientific basis and safety record remain unchanged—outcomes that place children and communities at greater risk.
Physicians remain the most trusted source of medical guidance. Parents and caregivers should know that their child’s pediatrician or family physician is best positioned to help navigate these updates and provide individualized, evidence-based counsel.
The Academy echoes the American Academy of Pediatrics’ continued endorsement of comprehensive, science-driven immunization guidance and urges policymakers to uphold standards of rigor, transparency, and medical expertise that safeguard child health and public trust.
