I’m not a huge fan of RFK Jr.’s positions on vaccines, especially those he held (and probably still holds, privately) before being appointed Health and Human Services Secretary. That said, it’s not too hard to believe that the medical profession has been too aggressively expanding the number of required vaccines for infants and young children the past two decades; at least, it should be looked at.

Trump and Kennedy Slash Recommended Immunizations for Small Kids

Partly the change stems from recognition that the U.S. recommended more childhood vaccines than any other peer nation, sometimes up to twice as many doses as those recommended in European countries. Furthermore, transparency is a much better way of ensuring public trust than mandates.

In 1980, American children following the CDC immunization schedule received 23 vaccine doses in 7 shots against 7 different diseases. In 2024, the recommended number of routine vaccines had risen to at least 84 vaccine doses in at least 57 shots for 17 diseases, plus the RSV monoclonal antibody immunization for a total of 18 diseases. This is more than other developed nations.
The scientific assessment recommends prioritizing 11 routine childhood vaccines, while preserving flexibility for parents and doctors to make individualized decisions for higher-risk children through shared clinical decision-making.