The American government continued its policy of reducing vaccination coverage for children by taking an unprecedented measure on Monday, January 5. The American Department of Health, headed by vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy Jr, announced the end of the recommendation for six vaccines: those against influenza, hepatitis A and B, meningococci (causing meningitis), as well as those against respiratory syncytial viruses (responsible for bronchiolitis in infants) and rotaviruses (responsible for gastroenteritis). The one against Covid-19 had already been removed from the list of vaccines recommended for all children a few months ago.
With this reform which takes effect immediately, vaccination against these diseases is only recommended for certain groups of children considered at high risk, or when doctors recommend it as part of a “shared decision”.
President Donald Trump had asked his minister to review American vaccination policy in light of the practices of other developed countries, and in particular Denmark, taken as an example by the American government. “After an exhaustive review of knowledge”declared Minister Robert Kennedy Jr in a press release, “We are aligning the American pediatric vaccination schedule with the international consensus. »
“We are adopting a much more reasonable schedule”Donald Trump wrote on Monday on his Truth Social network. “Parents can always choose, if they wish, to have their children benefit from all vaccines, and they will always be covered by insurance”he added.
The contested example of Denmark
Now, 11 vaccines are recommended for all American children, compared to 17 previously. In France, 12 vaccines are compulsory, including that against hepatitis B (but not A) and that against meningococci. The one against rotavirus is recommended, and those for the flu and Covid-19 are accessible.
But many doctors are worried. “The U.S. childhood vaccine schedule is one of the most carefully researched tools we have to protect children from serious, sometimes fatal diseases”reacted Sean O’Leary, specialist in infectious diseases and pediatrics. “It is crucial that any decision” about this “is based on evidence” et “no comparisons that do not take into account major differences between countries and health systems,” he added.
The example of Denmark, which has so far recommended fewer vaccines for children than the United States, is not relevant, experts from the University of Minnesota recently warned.
“Denmark’s timetable reflects decisions made in a small, very homogeneous country with a centralized public health system that guarantees universal access to care, low disease prevalence, as well as strong social infrastructure”they wrote. “These conditions do not exist in the United States, far from it”they specify.
Fear of a return of deadly contagious diseases
The direction taken by Donald Trump’s government is criticized even within the Republican Party. The measure “Based on no scientific information about risks, and very little transparency, will create needless fear among patients and doctors, and will make America sicker”wrote, on X, Senator Bill Cassidy, a doctor by training.
This American decision comes after many others, all in the same critical direction towards vaccination. In December, the American Medicines Agency (FDA) said it was investigating possible deaths linked to Covid-19 vaccines, even though the effectiveness and safety of anti-Covid vaccines have been documented by numerous studies. Also in December, a group of experts completely reshuffled by the minister decided to stop recommending the hepatitis B vaccine to all newborns.
These initiatives are causing concern within the American medical community, which accuses these experts of seeking to restrict access to vaccines, even as the country’s vaccination rates have been declining since the Covid-19 pandemic and raising fears of the return of deadly contagious diseases, such as measles.
It is the states, and not the federal government, which have the power to impose vaccination on schoolchildren. Although federal recommendations often influence state regulations, some states have begun forming their own alliances to counter the Trump administration’s vaccine guidelines.