How CDC’s big changes to kids’ vaccine schedule could impact Wisconsin

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is dramaticaly reducing the number of vaccines it recommends to all American children, taking six off the list that have been considered routine for decades.

The move does not appear to portend any immediate changes on Wisconsin residents because school vaccine requirements are set by the states and, according to a Jan. 5 announcement, the vaccines will still be covered by insurance.

But leading Wisconsin health officials are saying the changes will foist more confusion on parents as U.S. vaccine policy continues to transform under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Decreasing use of vaccines, they contend, leads to needless outbreaks – such as the ongoing measles outbursts – and, potentially, deaths.

Per the new schedule, the CDC will no longer universally recommend vaccines for the flu, COVID-19, meningococcal disease, RSV, hepatitis A and B, and rotavirus for children, instead recommending them only for high-risk groups or leaving the decision up to parents and doctors.

The CDC still will recommend vaccines for some diseases, such as chicken pox, whooping cough, polio and measles, mumps and rubella, for all children.

Wisconsin Department of Health Services spokesperson Jennifer Miller said the state agency is reviewing the CDC’s changes “with great concern for the health of children in our state.” Leaders will share any impacts the change might have on Wisconsin residents in the coming days, she said.

“We have not yet seen new scientific evidence that would justify changes to longstanding recommendations that have and continue to protect the health of children in the United States,” Miller said in an email.

Dr. Margaret Hennessy, a pediatrician and the immunization representative for the Wisconsin chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said the unilateral change by Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill is out of step with how federal health officials typically make changes to the vaccine schedule.

For decades, changes have occurred after thorough review from a committee composed of scientific experts called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

“My real question is, why is this being done?” Hennessy said. “It doesn’t seem to make any sense.”

She urged parents with questions to consult their pediatricians.

In December, President Donald Trump directed Kennedy and O’Neill to review the childhood vaccine schedule, saying the U.S. was an outlier in the number of vaccines recommended to children. Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, said in a Jan. 5 news release the change would align the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with “international consensus.”

The order from Trump specifically mentioned vaccine schedules in Denmark, Japan and Germany. Hennessy said matching the U.S. to Denmark, a far smaller country by population that offers universal health care, is “comparing apples to oranges.”

Dr. Jon Temte, a professor of family medicine and community health at UW-Madison’s medical school, said he and physician colleagues are “totally outraged” over the changes. Temte served on the federal vaccine advisory committee from 2004 to 2015.

Nearly 300 children in the U.S. died from the flu during the 2024-2025 flu season, he noted, almost 90% of them unvaccinated and only half having underlying conditions that made them more susceptible to severe disease. This season, Wisconsin has already recorded two child deaths from the flu and COVID-19.

“Those are the real-life consequences,” Temte said.

The change sets up yet another clash between state health officials and the federal government over vaccines. Despite federal pullback, state leaders have continued to recommend a birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine, as well as recommending the COVID-19 vaccine for all residents 6 months and older.

Leaders also criticized new language from the CDC saying the claim “Vaccines do not cause autism” is not an evidence-based statement because studies on infant vaccines haven’t “ruled out the possibility” that vaccines cause autism.

Madeline Heim covers health and the environment for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Contact her at 920-996-7266 or [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: How CDC’s big changes to kids’ vaccine schedule could impact Wisconsin

Reporting by Madeline Heim, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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