What do the CDC’s new vaccine guidelines mean for Central Virginia?

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - In a major shift, the federal government has reduced the number of vaccines it recommends for children to protect against infectious diseases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now recommending only 11 vaccines, down from 17 previously.

The change, which is effective immediately, means that vaccines against flu, RSV, rotavirus, Hepatitis A&B, Meningococcal disease, and the second dose of HPV are no longer recommended for all children, though they are still recommended for groups deemed “high risk.”

The decision comes after President Donald Trump directed Health and Human Services (HHS) and the CDC to evaluate the U.S. vaccine schedule and compare it to other “peer nations.” Ultimately, the two agencies say they found that the U.S. is a “global outlier” in the number of vaccine and dose recommendations it employs, without having higher vaccination rates.

“After an exhaustive review of the evidence, we are aligning the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with international consensus while strengthening transparency and informed consent,” said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., HHS Secretary. “This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health.”

Dr. Mehmet Oz, a television personality and the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, says that insurance will continue to cover the costs for vaccines.

“No family will lose access,” Oz said. “This framework empowers parents and physicians to make individualized decisions based on risk, while maintaining strong protection against serious disease.”

But in Charlottesville, some worry that the decision could undermine confidence in children’s health and lead to more outbreaks.

“It’s frightening,” said Doctor Jocelyn Schauer, a pediatrician and partner at Piedmont Pediatrics. “We just don’t want our patients to get sick.”

Schauer says her first reaction to the news was frustration, particularly because of how the decision was made.

“I think one of the interesting and most important pieces is how it was done,” said Margaret Riley, a law professor at the University of Virginia, who specializes in healthcare. “It wasn’t actually done using normal procedures.”

Riley says decisions like these are typically made by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ASIP), comprised of experts and physicians, and that because the choice to slash a handful of vaccines from the schedule was made instead by the executive, the move is unprecedented.

“For a change of this size, what you would have actually expected is multiple meetings by ASIP, and ASIP convening a number of public meetings as well,” Riley said.

Schauer described the past 24 hours as a “firehose of information,” one which concerned both her and other pediatricians she works with.

“This is not based on new data that they have or new science that they have that the schedule is safer or better or more protective for our children than the previous schedule,” Schauer said. “It was somewhat of a random and arbitrary decision to say that this is the schedule for children in the United States, and so it was shocking and scary, because these infectious diseases will only stay away if we have herd immunity.”

While the federal government points to Denmark, which it notes has significantly fewer vaccine recommendations for children, as a key example in its reasoning to cut back, Schauer argues that it’s an asymmetrical comparison.

“We’re not a country like Denmark that has universal healthcare, and a very homogeneous population that is carefully tracked from birth to death,” Schauer said. “We’re much more heterogenous, and so our experts have for decades crafted the most protective and safe...schedule that they could to minimize harm and death to our patients’ children.”

Piedmont Pediatrics will continue to follow the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) guidelines, which includes the full list of vaccine recommendations.

The same goes for UVA Health Children’s, which sent the following statement to 29News over email on Tuesday.

“There has been no new or concerning information about these vaccines that led to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ recommendation,” the statement reads. “At UVA Health, our pediatricians’ sole focus is the health of the children we care for, and that will continue to be what guides our team. That is why will we continue to follow the AAP guidance for the families we serve...Over decades, vaccines have proven to be the best way to protect children against a host of serious diseases.”

Both UVA Health and Piedmont Pediatrics encourage all families to continue having conversations with their healthcare providers about what route is best for them.

The Pediatric Associates of Charlottesville took to social media on Tuesday to announce that it too will be sticking with the AAP guidelines for vaccinations. 29News also reached out to Sentara Health, but has not received any statement yet.

As for Virginia’s public schools, vaccine requirements are set by the state, which does not necessarily have to follow the CDC’s new list of recommendations. 29News is still waiting for answers from the Virginia Department of Health about what the Commonwealth can expect.

Right now, the Virginia Department of Health requires public school students to receive a number of the vaccines slashed from the CDC recommendation list: Hepatitis A&B, Rotavirus, the second dose of HPV, and Meningococcal conjugate.

“If you start seeing a difference between Virginia and the federal government, then that’s a question parents will start raising, and there will be all sorts of conversations of whether Virginia’s mandates are appropriate,” Riley said.

Riley says the state’s decision is likely to be determined by a combination of legislative and executive action. 29News reached out to both Governor Glenn Youngkin and Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger for clarity about how Virginia should proceed, but has not received comments.

If there is a split, Riley says, at the federal, state, and even local level, and even a question about the effectiveness of the vaccines cut from the list, one of the biggest consequences is likely to prevent some people from even discussing vaccinations with their healthcare providers at all.

“What it really does is makes people unsure of what they should do,” Riley said. “Now they’re wondering, should I get this vaccine? So, they may not actually consult with their healthcare provider. It sows enough question that they might actually hold back.”

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