The New Standard? Unpacking the CDC’s 2026 Childhood Vaccine Overhaul (02-01-26)

In this episode, host Phil Tower welcomes Dr. Braden Engstrom, MD, a board-certified pediatrician at UM Health-West Hudsonville Pediatrics. 

In early January, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced an unprecedented overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule that recommends fewer shots to all children. Under the change — effective immediately — the vaccine schedule will more closely resemble Denmark’s, recommending all children get vaccines for 11 diseases, compared with the 18 previously on the schedule. 
Health and Human Services Department officials said these changes to the vaccination schedule were meant to restore trust in public health that spilled over from the Covid pandemic.
 
Notable: The childhood vaccine schedule is a set of recommendations on the timing of vaccinations. It’s not a mandate; instead, it’s used to guide what vaccines are covered by insurance and are needed to attend day care centers and public schools. States determine which vaccines are required for school attendance and have historically relied on the CDC schedule. It is usually reviewed annually by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and updated based on the latest scientific evidence.
 
In December of 2025,  the CDC rolled back a decades-long recommendation that all newborns get their first doses of the hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours — a move experts said could lead to a resurgence of infections.

Online resource: RFK Jr. Overhaul Vaccines
Online resource: Medical Groups Sue to Block Childhood Vaccine Recommendations