Medical and Public Health Leaders Urge Evidence-Based US Childhood Immunization Policy Amid Rising Respiratory Threats

On January 7, 2026, a broad coalition of medical, public health, and patient advocacy organizations issued a joint letter urging federal health leaders to reaffirm a transparent, evidence-based approach to US childhood immunization policy, a message with direct implications for infection prevention and control (IPC) professionals.

“The US childhood immunization schedule, which was developed over many decades, was assembled with 2 primary goals,” NFID Medical Director Robert H. Hopkins, Jr, MD, told Infection Control Today^® (ICT^®). “First, to provide protection to infants at the time when their immune system can safely respond to the vaccine, and secondly, to stimulate the child's immune system to offer protection that will provide the greatest risk reduction from the disease in question.”

Addressed to Jim O’Neill, Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services/Acting CDC Director; and Brian Christine, MD, Assistant Secretary for Health, US Department of Health and Human Services, the letter cautions against comparing the US childhood immunization schedule to those of other countries without accounting for major differences in population size, diversity, health care access, and infectious disease burden. The signatories stress that immunization policy must remain grounded in US epidemiology, real-world risk, and a rigorous scientific review process.

The timing of the letter is especially notable as the nation enters another challenging respiratory virus season. The coalition highlights sobering data from the most recent influenza season, during which 289 US children died. This is the highest pediatric flu death toll in more than a decade. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) also continues to be the leading cause of hospitalization among US infants, underscoring the stakes of any policy changes that could reduce vaccine coverage.

For IPC professionals, the message underscores a well-known yet vital truth: reducing the number of recommended vaccines does not reduce risk; it increases it. The authors strongly urge continued recommendation of annual influenza vaccination for everyone aged 6 months and older, along with RSV protection for infants whose mothers were not vaccinated during pregnancy. They warn that adopting an immunization schedule designed for another country, without adjusting for US-specific risks, could expose children to preventable disease, hospitalization, and death.

When ICT asked why the vaccination schedule is so tightly packed, Hopkins said, “The schedule is dense because there are many important diseases which pose significant risk to young infants and children, and for which we have effective vaccines that have been proven to be safe in well-designed studies.”

Hopkins continued, “The schedule we recommend contains far fewer antigens (the triggers which are included in vaccines to stimulate an immune response) than were included in the childhood vaccination schedule in the 1970s and 1980s (which included fewer routine vaccinations) and far less antigens than a child is exposed to in 1 hour of play on a school playground.”

Among the dozens of signatories are leading clinical societies, public health associations, and IPC organizations, including the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). The letter closes with a clear call to action: Federal leaders must reaffirm their commitment to transparent, evidence-based decision-making and keep protection of children’s health at the center of US vaccination policy.

The effort was coordinated in part by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, which continues to provide science-based immunization resources for health care professionals and the public.