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Michigan Tells Doctors to Ignore RFK Jr
Michigan’s chief doctor has advised colleagues to ignore advice from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) regarding the timing of vaccines. CDC is a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agency, which is overseen by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
This week, CDC acting director Jim O’Neill altered a federal policy about when the first dose of the hepatitis B vaccine should be administered. But Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan’s chief medical executive, said those in Michigan should follow different advice instead, calling it “well-evidence and based on rigorous review.”
Newsweek reached out to the HHS by email to comment on this story outside of normal business hours.
Exclusive: HHS Planning to Overhaul Childhood Vaccine Schedule to Recommend Fewer Shots, Source Says
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is planning to overhaul the schedule of recommended vaccines for children in the U.S., a person familiar with the plans told CNN on Thursday. The proposed new schedule would recommend fewer shots, bringing it closer in line with what’s recommended in other developed countries.
The expectation is that the U.S. schedule will be close to, if not identical to, recommendations in Denmark, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak about the matter. The plan has not been finalized and could still change.
HHS had planned to make the announcement Friday afternoon, the person said, but it was pushed to 2026 so as not to conflict with White House plans to announce further efforts to lower drug costs through “Most Favored Nation” pricing. An HHS spokesperson declined to comment and referred questions to the agency’s earlier statement that it had postponed a “children’s health announcement” until next year.
What Are the Four Vaccines Florida Plans to No Longer Require?
Florida’s surgeon general wants to do away with all state vaccine mandates. But the first step in his plan targets four specific vaccines. Earlier this month, the Department of Health had a meeting during which officials unveiled a proposal to drop the requirement for the chickenpox, the Hepatitis B, the Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib, and the Pneumococcal conjugate vaccines.
Unlike many of the state’s other required vaccines, the health department can drop those four requirements without needing legislative approval. If the department continues on its current path, the four vaccines could be out of the state’s requirements by the Spring. But what do they do, and why have public health experts recommended them?
Here’s what to know. The Varicella, or chickenpox vaccine, was added to the recommended schedule of childhood shots in 1996, making it one of the newer childhood vaccines. Dr. Ravi Jhaveri, the division head of pediatric infectious diseases at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, said that though there’s a popular notion that chickenpox is a “rite of passage,” kids can still develop severe complications from it.
Who Decides What Vaccines a Child Should Get?
As childhood vaccination rates fall, several diseases once considered eradicated are back and spreading, most notably measles and whooping cough. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been vocal in changing vaccine recommendations for children, particularly calling for restrictions on COVID-19 and Hepatitis B vaccines. It’s all despite the CDC’s own data showing they are safe and effective.
Some Democratic-led states are banding together to create their own health coalitions to combat the reversal of the CDC’s decades-long recommendations and provide clear information to their constituents. While others, mostly Republican-led states, are trying to eliminate vaccine requirements for children.
