Trump Administration Plans Dramatic Cuts to Childhood Vaccine Recommendations

Denmark Model Drives Major Policy Shift

The Trump administration is preparing to announce a sweeping overhaul of America's childhood vaccination schedule, recommending fewer shots for children and aligning U.S. policy with Denmark's more limited approach . The expectation is that the U.S. schedule will be close to, if not identical to, recommendations in Denmark , according to sources familiar with the plans.

The planned overhaul comes weeks after President Donald Trump ordered officials to review the childhood vaccine schedule and weigh recommending fewer shots . "It is ridiculous!" Trump wrote earlier this month in a Truth Social post about the current US schedule . In a post on X, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded: "Thank you, Mr. President. We're on it."

HHS and the CDC were scheduled to make an announcement on "children's health" on Friday, but that briefing was postponed to the new year , with officials citing scheduling conflicts with White House drug pricing announcements.

Stark Differences Between U.S. and Danish Approaches

The contrast between current American and Danish vaccination policies is dramatic. The U.S. recommends 72 childhood vaccination doses targeting 18 diseases, while Denmark only recommends 11 doses targeting 10 diseases . Denmark doesn't currently recommend immunization against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, for children; the US does. It also doesn't recommend the rotavirus, hepatitis A, meningococcal, flu or chickenpox vaccines for children, while these vaccines are on the US schedule .

RSV is the leading cause of hospitalization in infants , highlighting one of the key differences in disease burden between the two countries. Health experts point to hepatitis B as an example of the contrast in vaccine schedules. In 2023, Denmark reported 99 new cases of chronic hepatitis B, according to the Statens Serum Institut, compared to more than 17,000 new cases in the U.S.

The country has a population of roughly 6 million people distributed across an area similar to the state of Maryland. Denmark also has universal health care system with free comprehensive health services , creating vastly different public health conditions than those in America.

Medical Community Raises Concerns

The proposed changes have drawn sharp criticism from infectious disease experts who question the wisdom of adopting Denmark's approach. Dr. Peter Hotez, a pediatrician who directs the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children's Hospital, called the plan "a bit of a head scratcher" . "More likely, it's part of DHHS's consistent efforts to make vaccines unavailable to the American people. They cherry-picked Denmark because they administer the fewest vaccines of any Western country. And by going to Denmark's system it affords them an opportunity to deprive Americans of vaccines for bacterial meningitis and rotavirus which are major causes of morbidity and mortality of America's children" , he said.

During the CDC meeting, Dr. Adam Langer, the agency's expert on hepatitis B, took issue with the Denmark comparison ahead of a significant change to hepatitis B vaccine recommendations for infants. "The United States is a unique country," he began. Of Denmark, he pointed out, "the entire country has 6 million people" .

Infectious disease experts said that what makes sense for Denmark doesn't make sense for the United States. "Children in the United States are at risk of different diseases than children in other countries," Dr. Jose Romero, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Infectious Diseases, said .

Policy Implications and Future Timeline

The plan has not been finalized and could still change , but the administration appears committed to with significant reductions in childhood vaccination recommendations. Hoeg noted that with fewer vaccines, there's less exposure to aluminum, which is used as an adjuvant — an ingredient added to create a stronger immune response. It's used in several childhood vaccines because it enables doctors to give fewer doses, which requires a smaller amount of vaccine. Despite broad evidence that using aluminum-containing adjuvants in vaccines is safe, Kennedy has argued that aluminum in vaccines is linked to allergies and other health conditions .

The timing of this policy shift represents one of the most significant changes to American childhood vaccination policy in decades. Parents, pediatricians, and public health officials will need to navigate a dramatically altered landscape as the administration moves to implement what could be the most restrictive childhood vaccination schedule among developed nations. The debate over whether America should follow Denmark's model will likely intensify as implementation details emerge in the coming months.