Trump orders fast-track review of US vaccine schedule, blasts 72-shot plan

New Delhi,UPDATED: Dec 6, 2025 06:55 IST

US President Donald Trump said he has ordered a sweeping review of the US childhood vaccine schedule, directing federal health officials to compare American guidelines with those used overseas and fast track recommendations for potential changes.

Trump announced the move on Truth Social, saying he had signed a Presidential Memorandum instructing the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of vaccine schedules from other countries around the world and to better align the US Vaccine Schedule, so it is finally rooted in the Gold Standard of Science and COMMON SENSE!

The announcement came as Trump applauded a vote by the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee to end its recommendation for giving Hepatitis B shots to newborns. Trump called the shift a very good decision, arguing that the vast majority of (babies) are at NO RISK of Hepatitis B, a disease that is mostly transmitted sexually, or through dirty needles.”

Trump repeated long-standing criticisms of the number of childhood vaccines recommended in the United States, saying the current schedule required 72 ‘jabs’ for perfectly healthy babies, far more than any other country in the world, and far more than is necessary.

“In fact, it is ridiculous!” he wrote, adding that “many parents and scientists have been questioning the efficacy of this ‘schedule,’ as have I!”

The President said the evaluation would be handled swiftly by HHS and CDC leadership. “I am fully confident Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the CDC, will get this done, quickly and correctly, for our Nation’s Children,” Trump posted.

Trump framed the move as an overdue correction. “Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he wrote, signing off with his campaign slogan, “MAHA!”

CDC PANEL DROPS UNIVERSAL HEPATITIS B SHOT FOR NEWBORNS

A federal vaccine advisory committee voted to end the long-standing recommendation that all US newborns receive a hepatitis B shot at birth, a move that has sparked sharp criticism from leading health experts.

The panel, newly appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said most infants face low risk and that earlier safety studies were inadequate.

Under the proposal, only babies born to mothers who test positive for the virus, or whose status is unknown, would automatically receive the vaccine. Others would begin the series at two months if parents choose to delay.

Medical groups, state health departments and insurers say they will continue recommending and covering the birth dose, calling it a proven safeguard against a serious liver infection. Critics warned the shift could reverse decades of progress.

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