In 2025, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) was overhauled by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., emphasizing “individual-based decision-making.” It dropped universal COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, delayed hepatitis B shots for most newborns, split MMRV into separate doses, banned thimerosal, and began revising the overall childhood schedule.
However under the pressure of the McCullough Foundation Report: Determinants of Autism Spectrum Disorder, President Trump apparently gave orders to acting CDC Director and former tech investor Jim O’Neill who issued a one page memo trimming the decades old and growing ACIP childhood vaccine schedule. O’Neill stated in a Tweet:
Last month, President Trump asked me to review the immunization schedules of other developed nations and consider their best practices. I had productive conversations with my peers in the health ministries of Japan, Denmark, and Germany. Scientists at FDA, CDC, NIH, CMS, and ASPE also contributed to a scientific assessment and recommendation, in addition to enlightening conversations about evidence gaps and randomized trials. I’m grateful to all of them for their excellent work.
It is widely anticipated that multiple pro-vaccine associations will re-assert they will not follow ACIP or new POTUS schedule. We can anticipate more turmoil until our HHS leadership musters the courage to call leaders from major academic medical centers to Bethesda to review the new approach and build consensus for its support.
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By Independent News Roundup