NEWS: Senator Blunt Rochester, Ranking Member Sanders, Leader Schumer, and Colleagues Call on HHS to Follow the Science on Vaccines for Kids

Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP), Senate HELP Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) led 18 of their colleagues in demanding answers from Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on the recent overhaul of the child and adolescent immunization schedule. The changes were announced on January 5, 2026 by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Acting Director Jim O'Neill.

The Senators highlighted the lack of evidence supporting the changes and called for the immediate reinstatement of the previous, science-backed vaccine schedule.

"The United States has long recognized the importance of childhood vaccines as a measure to protect children and the safety of the public," the Senators wrote. "The immense responsibility for developing childhood vaccine recommendations fell to CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a committee of independent advisers that Americans have trusted for transparent, rigorous, and evidence-based recommendations on vaccines. This process worked."

"…Now, Acting Director O'Neill has bypassed the ACIP process in its entirety and directed a staggering change in policy-one that moves the United States from a world leader to a notable outlier among developed nations," the Senators continued. "This decision appears to rely on only cursory data and the position that the United States should recommend fewer vaccines for children consistent with what some other nations do-despite differences in health care systems, population size, and disease burdens. It is not based on any new scientific evidence on the safety or effectiveness of the vaccines. In short, it is clear that this decision was made by politicians instead of scientists and doctors."

"The likely result of these abrupt changes to the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule is clear and indefensible: confusion among parents about which vaccines their children need and ultimately lower vaccination rates," the Senators concluded. "You are not 'making America healthy again' with these changes. You are putting the health and safety of our children at risk. The previous immunization schedule must be reinstated now."

Senator Blunt Rochester, who serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate HELP Committee's Subcommittee on Education and the American Family, has been a leader in defending scientific integrity when it comes to vaccines. In September, she asked questions of former CDC Director Susan Monarez, who was removed from her post because she refused to comply with Secretary Kennedy's harmful directives on vaccines. Also in September, Senator Blunt Rochester hosted a spotlight forumon the impact of Secretary Kennedy's dangerous vaccine policies. In July, Senator Blunt Rochester introduced the VACCINE Act, legislation to protect vaccine science and integrity by strengthening protections for the ACIP.

In addition to Senator Blunt Rochester, Ranking Member Sanders, and Leader Schumer, the letter was signed by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Angus King (I-Maine), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Alex Padilla (D-Calif.).

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

Dear Secretary Kennedy:

On Monday, January 5, 2026, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Acting Director Jim O'Neill announced immediate and sweeping changes to the child and adolescent immunization schedule. These changes were not made by independent, subject matter experts - as historically has been the process. Instead, these recommendations were developed by political appointees pursuing your long-held ideological agenda that is unsupported by science. The press release from Acting Director O'Neill falsely claims that these changes will improve "clarity, adherence, and public confidence." These arbitrary changes have and will continue to sow confusion, risk lives, and undermine public confidence in vaccines. We demand the science-based childhood immunization schedule be reinstated immediately.

Vaccines remain one of the most important achievements in medical science. For most of human history, infectious diseases killed or injured far greater percentages of the population than they do today. Vaccines for polio, measles, mumps, and rubella have all turned deadly, debilitating childhood diseases into preventable illnesses. The World Health Organization estimates that vaccines prevent an estimated 3.5 to 5 million deaths every year.

The United States has long recognized the importance of childhood vaccines as a measure to protect children and the safety of the public. The immense responsibility for developing childhood vaccine recommendations fell to CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a committee of independent advisers that Americans have trusted for transparent, rigorous, and evidence-based recommendations on vaccines. This process worked. In fact, according to the CDC, "among children born [in the United States] during 1994-2023, routine childhood vaccinations will have prevented approximately 508 million lifetime cases of illness, 32 million hospitalizations, and 1,129,000 deaths, resulting in direct savings of $540 billion and societal savings of $2.7 trillion."

Rather than continue this process in the best interest of people's health, you effectively broke it by packing ACIP with political loyalists. Since the formation of this new committee in June 2025, ACIP has misrepresented data and promoted false information, resulting in changes to the vaccine recommendations for COVID-19, measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV), and hepatitis B. In each of their meetings last year, they discarded longstanding recommendations, leading to confusion and fear for parents and pediatricians alike.

But that was not enough: now, Acting Director O'Neill has bypassed the ACIP process in its entirety and directed a staggering change in policy-one that moves the United States from a world leader to a notable outlier among developed nations. This decision appears to rely on only cursory data and the position that the United States should recommend fewer vaccines for children consistent with what some other nations do-despite differences in health care systems, population size, and disease burdens. It is not based on any new scientific evidence on the safety or effectiveness of the vaccines. In short, it is clear that this decision was made by politicians instead of scientists and doctors.

The likely result of these abrupt changes to the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule is clear and indefensible: confusion among parents about which vaccines their children need and ultimately lower vaccination rates. You are not "making America healthy again" with these changes. You are putting the health and safety of our children at risk. The previous immunization schedule must be reinstated now.

Your lack of transparency and failure to consult key stakeholders has led to numerous unresolved questions. Accordingly, we request the following information by February 1, 2026:

1. What analysis was conducted related to the potential increase in vaccine hesitancy resulting from this decision?
   1. What consideration did you give to the increased risk of outbreaks, illness, and death from this decision?
   2. What analysis was conducted to determine the potential cost to the health care system and impact on health care providers from this decision?
2. What plan is in place to measure the impact of changes to the child and adolescent immunization schedule on health outcomes?
3. What measures or criteria were considered when determining which countries to align the United States' vaccine approach with?
   1. What consideration was given to the unique distribution and determinants of diseases in each region?
   2. What consideration was given to differences in access to pre- and post-natal, pediatric, or primary care?
   3. What consideration was given to differences in maternity leave policies, health insurance models, and health care work force?
4. Please provide a list of professional organizations, advocacy organizations, members of the medical community, states, parents, schools or others consulted prior to changing the childhood vaccine schedule.
5. Please provide a list of the experts at CDC, FDA, NIH, and CMS who were consulted in the development of the assessment comparing the U.S. schedule to other countries.

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Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester represents Delaware in the United States Senate where she serves on the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Environment and Public Works; and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.