AFV Statement on Federal Dismantling of Childhood Vaccine Schedule

American Families for Vaccines strongly opposes the federal government’s decision to weaken long-standing childhood vaccine recommendations. This action replaces clarity with confusion, evidence with politics, and stability with unnecessary risk—at a moment when families need steady, science-based leadership.

American families navigate uneven access to health care, limited parental leave, crowded schools and childcare settings, and persistent health inequities—conditions that make children more vulnerable to infectious disease and make prevention essential. In response, the U.S. childhood immunization framework was built through rigorous research, real-world data, and the clinical experience of pediatricians and public health experts to protect children from preventable illness, reduce hospitalizations, and give families peace of mind.

That framework worked.

This decision, implemented with limited expert deliberation or transparency via public record, abandons that success. By scaling back routine vaccine guidance and shifting responsibility onto individual families and clinicians, federal leaders are introducing unnecessary uncertainty. When vaccines lack clear recommendations, uptake suffers. When uptake declines, outbreaks follow. That pattern is well documented—and entirely avoidable.

The rationale offered for this change misreads both the science and the public. HHS has not offered new or compelling data to refute decades of high-quality evidence showing the safety, benefits, and importance of these routine vaccines. Multiple recent surveys consistently show that the vast majority of Americans continue to vaccinate ourselves and our children, and we place a high degree of confidence in the doctors, nurses, and pediatricians who care for our families. Although trust in public health institutions has been eroded by years of politicization and misinformation, Americans continue to rely on—and trust—our healthcare providers. Undermining evidence-based guidance in the name of “trust repair” risks deepening skepticism rather than restoring confidence.

Comparisons to other countries ignore critical differences. The United States does not have a centralized health system, guaranteed parental leave, or uniform access to care. Policies that may function in smaller, more homogeneous countries do not translate automatically here. Copying another nation’s schedule without its infrastructure creates gaps, widens inequities, and destabilizes state systems that rely on clear federal guidance.

This moment makes our work to organize the pro-vaccine majority in states across the nation more important than ever. States remain on the front lines of protecting access to vaccines, countering misinformation, and ensuring children are protected regardless of geography or income. We stand with pediatricians, nurses, scientists, and public health professionals who continue to put children’s health first.

The United States does not need to reinvent childhood vaccination or run political experiments with families’ lives. We need to preserve the robust, rigorous system, backed by scientific evidence, that protects children every day.

Advocates must speak up now. Contact your state and federal lawmakers and urge them to demand accountability by calling for the resignation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Children’s health should never be collateral damage in a politicized agenda, and leaders who endanger public health must be held responsible.