Currently, attorneys general from over 14 states and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro are suing the Trump administration over changes made by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to the recommended children’s vaccine schedule. The lawsuit, filed in California, names both HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the acting director of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). The states involved in the lawsuit are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin.
The case argues that these changes “undermine scientific consensus and could strain public health systems”. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who is leading the case, has stated, “Secretary RFK Jr. and his CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) are flouting decades of scientific research, ignoring credible medical experts, and threatening to strain state resources and make America’s children sicker”.
The previous schedule included vaccines against 17 diseases, but the changes made in January 2026 now only recommend 11. The vaccines removed include rotavirus, influenza, hepatitis A and B, meningococcal disease, and RSV. Now these vaccines will only be recommended to children considered “high-risk”. The COVID-19 vaccine recommendation was also removed, not just for children, but for many adults as well.
The HHS has stated that its intended goal is to “move the United States toward Denmark’s model of childhood immunization,” which consists of around 10 vaccines. They reason that the US’s number of childhood vaccines is much higher than that of “comparative countries”. This is troubling for a number of reasons. Firstly, Denmark’s population is significantly smaller, with about 6 million people compared to the US’s 343 million. It is much easier for Denmark to track and contain outbreaks. Additionally, Denmark has universal healthcare, meaning treating a child with a disease they weren’t vaccinated for is much easier for the family.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a public statement about this reasoning, “Copying Denmark’s vaccine schedule without copying Denmark’s health care system doesn’t give families more options – it just leaves kids unprotected from serious diseases”. Furthermore, the argument that the US is an outlier in terms of the amount of childhood vaccines is just flat-out wrong. Germany, France, and Italy recommend 15+ childhood vaccines. If anything, Denmark is the outlier.
The lawsuit also challenges the changes RFK Jr. made to the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices last year. And when I say changes, RFK Jr. actually gutted the entire board. He fired all 17 members and replaced them with known vaccine deniers. In a public statement, New Jersey Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport commented that, “RFK, Jr. replaced established experts with an unqualified vaccine panel and issued a rogue vaccine schedule that gambled with children’s health and lives. This radical and unlawful overhaul of the nation’s childhood vaccine schedule rests on fringe theories and ignores decades of science”.
These new changes demonstrate a dramatic shift away from the core principle that has guided immunization policies for decades, the idea that “routine vaccinations are the most reliable way to prevent outbreaks and protect communities”. According to previous CDC reports, “routine childhood vaccinations prevent more than 508 million cases of illness, 32 million hospitalizations, and more than 1.1 million deaths”. Hopefully, more states will join in this lawsuit before it’s too late and more children die as a result of these changes.
