OAN Staff Lillian Mann and Katherine Mosack
10:20 AM – Saturday, May 30, 2026
President Donald Trump has signed an executive order (EO) directing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to align its childhood vaccination recommendations with Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) assessments, which call for a reduced childhood vaccine schedule.
The order, “Realigning United States Core Childhood Vaccine Recommendations with Best Practices from Peer, Developed Countries,” signed Friday, is expected to slash the number of vaccines recommended for children from 17 to 11.
The CDC and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) are set to review the HHS’s January scientific assessment alongside the latest clinical data and take any appropriate steps to update the U.S. childhood and adolescent immunization schedule.
“By signing today’s Executive Order, President Trump is reaffirming his commitment to gold-standard science, ensuring Americans receive the best possible medical advice, and empowering patients and doctors with maximum flexibility,” the White House said in a fact sheet accompanying Friday’s order.
In its January assessment, the HHS recommended limiting immunizations against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), hepatitis A, hepatitis B, dengue, meningococcal ACWY, and meningococcal B to children in high-risk groups.
Implementing this new recommendation would remove vaccines for the following diseases from the recommended schedule:
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Meningitis
- Rotavirus
- Influenza (Flu)
- COVID-19
“My Administration is committed to ensuring that Americans are receiving the best scientifically supported medical advice in the world,” Trump stated in the order. “Additionally, my Administration is committed to protecting religious liberty and parental authority.”
“It is the policy of the United States that the core childhood vaccine schedule should be aligned with scientific evidence and best practices from peer developed countries, while preserving access to vaccines currently available to Americans,” the statement continued.
The EO explicitly protects parental choice and ensures that any vaccines cut from the schedule will remain available and covered by insurance if parents elect to request that healthcare professionals administer them to their children.
According to section 2c, all immunizations previously or currently on the CDC/ACIP schedules “should continue to be covered without cost sharing by private insurance and covered by Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Vaccines for Children Program.”
Nevertheless, the assessment maintained routine vaccination recommendations for 11 childhood diseases: measles, mumps, rubella, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), pneumococcal disease, polio, human papillomavirus (HPV), and varicella (chickenpox).
Before the order was signed, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed the previous ACIP panel, appointing new members who reportedly intend to prioritize parental rights over the interests of pharmaceutical companies.
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