HHS is drafting a proposal to reduce the number of routine childhood vaccines in the United States, aligning the schedule more closely with Denmark’s 2025 guidance, a source told CNN. The plan is not final and its public announcement was postponed until 2026 to avoid conflicting White House drug-pricing news. Experts cautioned that Denmark’s smaller population, universal prenatal care, national registries and higher screening rates make direct comparisons difficult; others noted fewer vaccines would reduce exposure to adjuvants. Any change would require further review and formal advisory processes.
Exclusive: HHS Plans Overhaul Of U.S. Childhood Vaccine Schedule, May Recommend Fewer Shots
The US Department of Health and Human Services had tentatively planned to make the announcement Friday, a source told CNN, but it was pushed to 2026. - Kevin Carter/Getty Images
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is preparing a proposed revision of the recommended childhood immunization schedule that would reduce the number of shots children are advised to receive, aligning the American schedule more closely with guidance used in some other high-income countries, a person familiar with the plans told CNN.
The draft proposal is not final and could change. According to the source, HHS originally planned to announce the plan on a Friday afternoon but postponed the rollout until 2026 so it would not overlap with a White House initiative to lower drug prices under a "Most Favored Nation" pricing effort. An HHS spokesperson declined to comment and referred reporters to an earlier agency statement that a "children's health announcement" had been deferred until next year.
What Would Change
The draft would recommend fewer routine childhood vaccines and is expected to resemble — and could be identical to — Denmark's 2025 recommendations published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Denmark's schedule omits routine childhood vaccination for several diseases that are currently on the U.S. schedule, including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), rotavirus, hepatitis A, meningococcal disease, seasonal influenza and chickenpox.
Reactions From Experts
Public health experts and vaccine researchers expressed concern about adopting another country's schedule without accounting for differences in population, health systems and epidemiology.
"Why would we ever want to emulate that?" asked Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, adding that Denmark's choices reflect different cost and health-policy trade-offs.
Dr. Peter Hotez, director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital, called the plan "a bit of a head scratcher," warning that Denmark's approach could leave U.S. children vulnerable to diseases that cause significant illness and death in the U.S.
At a recent meeting of CDC vaccine advisers, Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg — the newly named acting director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and a dual U.S.-Denmark citizen — presented on Denmark's process. She said Denmark's system benefits from less politicized decision-making, broader debate and a clear acknowledgment of knowns and unknowns. Hoeg also noted that fewer vaccines reduce exposure to aluminum-containing adjuvants, which are used to boost immune response in some vaccines; she emphasized that scientific evidence broadly supports the safety of these adjuvants, even as some officials have raised concerns.
Systemic Differences Matter, Officials Say
Dr. Adam Langer, the CDC's hepatitis B expert, cautioned against direct comparisons between the two countries. He pointed to key structural differences: Denmark's population is about 6 million (smaller than New York City), prenatal hepatitis B screening rates exceed 95% there, prenatal care is universally provided for residents and many refugees, and Denmark maintains a national health registry that enables reliable follow-up of exposed infants — systems the U.S. lacks at a comparable scale.
Those differences affect how vaccine recommendations translate into real-world protection. For example, Denmark's robust screening and follow-up systems mean fewer infants are lost to follow-up after hospital discharge; in the U.S., continuity of care and access gaps can make relying on follow-up alone less reliable.
Timeline, Political Context And Next Steps
The reported review follows a presidential memorandum directing HHS to evaluate vaccine schedules used by other countries and consider aligning U.S. guidance. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded publicly that the department is proceeding with the review. The agency's final decision, including whether to adopt fewer routine vaccinations, has not been released and will be subject to further review, public discussion and advisory deliberations.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that a vaccine listed on Denmark's childhood schedule was omitted; that error has been corrected.
The debate underscores broader tensions between universal public-health approaches, the practical realities of the U.S. health system, and differing views about trade-offs between population-level prevention and the costs and logistics of delivering vaccines. HHS and federal advisory groups are continuing their review; any official change to the U.S. childhood immunization schedule would follow formal advisory and regulatory processes.
