The US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), under the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is reworking US vaccination policy. This process began with his firing of the entire Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and replacing its members with vaccine skeptics (Schnirring & Beusekom, 2025). To date, Kennedy and agencies within the DHHS, such as the CDC, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), have been empowered to question vaccine safety and alter vaccine research, production, recommendations and schedules. This reduction in vaccine support has already resulted in increased vaccine hesitancy among the US population and an increase in infectious disease cases, including measles and whooping cough.
Vaccine recommendations and schedules
Kennedy continues to sow doubt about the safety of childhood vaccines, particularly linking them to autism, despite broad scientific consensus that vaccines are not responsible for the increasing childhood autism diagnoses (Gabis, et al., 2022; Taylor, et al, 2025) and that recommended childhood vaccines are safe and effective (Navin & Ross, 2025). In November 2025, Kennedy ordered the CDC to replace material on its website that had previously stated there was no link between autism and vaccines. The new website says that the claim “vaccines do not cause autism” is not an evidence-based claim because “studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism” and “Studies supporting a link have been ignored by health authorities” (CDC, 2025a).
Based on alleged safety concerns, childhood vaccine schedules are now being revised. As of 5 December 2025, it is recommended that infants not receive their first Hepatitis B vaccine within one day of birth, a recommendation that has been in place since 1994. Childhood combination vaccines of measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox are soon to be separated into the first three, and then months later, the last individual vaccines (CDC, 2025b). Increasing the number of times children need to obtain vaccines is likely to reduce immunization rates.
COVID-19 vaccine recommendations are also changing. In October, the CDC approved the ACIP’s decision not to recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for individuals of all ages, instead leaving the decision up to each individual (Howard, 2025).
State governments are watching the changing federal vaccine recommendations. All states currently require children to have specified vaccines as a condition for school attendance. One state, Florida, is preparing to eliminate this state mandate (Navin & Ross, 2025). Other conservative states may follow.
Impacts: Vaccine hesitancy and disease
Unfounded safety fears are leading to a substantial decline in childhood vaccination rates. For example, in St. Louis, Missouri, only 76% of children entering kindergarten (usually around age five) had received all state-required vaccines; the rate was 92% 15 years earlier.
Declines in vaccination rates and the loss of herd immunity are leading to a resurgence in vaccine-preventable diseases. In a Texas county that was the epicenter of a measles outbreak, vaccination rates were only 77%, far below the 95% threshold necessary for herd immunity (Edwards, et al., 2025). Cases of whooping cough are also increasing as vaccination rates decline, particularly in states such as Texas, Florida, California and Oregon (Vaccine Advisor, 2025).