FDA & Government News

Routine vs. Risk-Based Vaccination

The CDC has dropped routine recommendations for six childhood vaccines, shifting decisions to parents and doctors despite decades of evidence showing the shots prevented millions of hospitalizations and tens of thousands of deaths.

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Recent changes by the CDC have significantly reduced childhood vaccination recommendations, removing universal guidance on six vaccines, including those for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and rotavirus. These vaccines have historically prevented millions of hospitalizations and deaths. Vaccination will now depend on shared clinical decision-making between healthcare providers and parents for certain high-risk children. Concerns have arisen among public health experts regarding the potential increase in preventable diseases due to this shift in guideline. Notably, the CDC continues to recommend 11 other vaccines.

Original Source(s)

Routine vs. Risk-Based Vaccination

The CDC has dropped routine recommendations for six childhood vaccines, shifting decisions to parents and doctors despite decades of evidence showing the shots prevented millions of hospitalizations and tens of thousands of deaths.

  • by Arthur Allen, Jackie Fortiér

  • January 7, 2026

  • 8 min

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