PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
(WTAQ-WLUK) — Wisconsin politicians and health groups are reacting after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced new vaccination guidelines for children.
The CDC is pulling back on its number of recommended vaccines for kids. 11 shots will now be recommended — a stark decrease from the previous list of 17. Some local medical providers are worried the changes will create confusion.
“All of this progress we’ve made scientifically seems to have been halted all of the sudden, without any real scientific reasoning or data to suggest that this is the right thing to do,” UW Health Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Director of Health Immunization Programs Dr. Jim Conway said.
Vaccines removed from the list include Rotavirus, Influenza, Hepatitis A and B, RSV, COVID-19 and Meningococcal disease. Conway said taking these vaccines off the recommended list will likely reintroduce those diseases, creating a detriment to public health.
“These vaccines are safe. They’re effective. They’ve been tested and used for many, many years, and we continue to believe that they’re the right thing for all the kids in our country,” Conway said.
The CDC still does recommend vaccines for Measles, Mumps, Polio, Chickenpox, Rubella and HPV, among others.
Conway believes vaccinating children is important, given their vulnerability and likelihood of infecting others. Other groups, however, are applauding the CDC’s reduction in vaccine recommendations.
“We definitely think this is a step in the right direction to give more autonomy to doctors. Let doctors and families figure out together what’s best for this individual child,” Children’s Health Defense President Mary Holland said.
Children’s Health Defense is a nonprofit medical freedom organization. The group believes there should be no medical mandates.
Holland said the change to 11 vaccines lines the U.S. up with other developed countries, like Denmark, for child immunization.
“I think that what this schedule will lead to is greater honesty, greater transparency and greater tailoring to individual children. Not every child at four months is ready for a battery of vaccines,” Holland said.
Holland said a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to vaccines is irresponsible. But Conway worries this is the just the first step towards other health recommendation changes by the CDC.
Despite these changes, vaccines removed from the CDC’s recommended list will still be available and covered by insurance. These vaccines will now only be recommended for high-risk groups, or suggested based on clinical decision-making.
Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson posted about the CDC’s changes on X, saying:
I applaud @POTUS and @SecKennedy for taking the important first step in developing a rational childhood vaccine schedule more in line with other developed countries. What we need next are rigorous studies that assess the safety and effectiveness of all childhood vaccines with integrity — not corrupted by the undue influence of vaccine manufacturers.
Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin also posted about the changes on X:
RFK, Jr. and Donald Trump think they know better than scientists and doctors – and it’s putting children’s lives on the line. This is reckless and will mean more children are going to get preventable diseases and sick.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services had the following statement:
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is reviewing the information released by the federal government today and is doing so with great concern for the health of children in our state. Health professionals and parents deserve accurate, credible information.
We have not yet seen new scientific evidence that would justify changes to longstanding recommendations that have and continue to protect the health of children in the United States. We will continue to assess the changes to the recommended childhood vaccination schedule made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well recommendations from other trusted medical and public health agencies and will communicate any impact these changes may have on Wisconsinites in the coming days.
Co-Founder of Wisconsin United for Freedom Tara Czachor also had a statement:
Wisconsin United for Freedom (WUFF) was founded in 2019 in response to legislative attempts to eliminate Wisconsin’s personal conviction exemption for childhood immunizations. We successfully advocated to preserve vaccine choice then, and we will do the same again since a similar piece of legislation is currently being circulated by Democrats in our state legislature. As such, we applaud the CDC’s recent overhaul of the childhood immunization schedule, which significantly reduces the number of universally recommended vaccines from 17-18 to 11 diseases. This historic shift aligns the U.S. more closely with peer nations like Denmark, emphasizing parental choice, informed consent, and shared clinical decision-making for additional vaccines such as COVID-19, influenza, rotavirus, and others.
By moving away from one-size-fits-all mandates and recognizing that many vaccines may not be necessary for all children, the CDC is restoring trust in public health and empowering families to make personalized health decisions with their trusted healthcare provider, based on individual risk factors. In the report issued by HHS announcing the changing of the schedule, HHS states, “It is generally considered contrary to basic medical ethics to coerce or require a medical intervention, and informed consent is a cornerstone of medical care in the U.S. and abroad.” All previously recommended vaccines remain fully accessible and covered by insurance, ensuring options without coercion. This approach supports the principles of transparency and parental rights that WUFF has championed through citizen lobbying, public rallies, and educational outreach.
This change represents a long-overdue victory for medical freedom, prioritizing transparency, evidence-based policy, and the fundamental right of parents to direct their children’s healthcare without government overreach.
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