Washington — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is considering a significant overhaul of the nation’s recommended childhood vaccine schedule, potentially reducing the number of shots given to American children, according to a person familiar with the internal discussions.
Under the proposal, the U.S. schedule would be brought closer to vaccine recommendations used in Denmark and some other European countries. The individual, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said the final version could closely resemble — or even mirror — Denmark’s childhood immunization plan.
The proposal is still under review and has not been finalized. HHS had initially planned to announce the changes Friday, but the rollout has been postponed until 2026 to avoid clashing with White House plans related to drug pricing reforms under the “Most Favored Nation” policy, the source said.
An HHS spokesperson declined to comment on the specifics and referred questions to a previous agency statement confirming that a planned “children’s health announcement” has been delayed until next year.
Trump Order Sparked Review
The potential shift follows a directive from President Donald Trump earlier this month, ordering federal health agencies to reassess the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule and examine whether fewer vaccines should be recommended.
“It is ridiculous!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post criticizing the current schedule. He said he had signed a presidential memorandum instructing HHS to “fast track” a comprehensive comparison of vaccine schedules used by other countries.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly supported the move, posting on X, “Thank you, Mr. President. We’re on it.”
Why Denmark?
Denmark’s 2025 childhood immunization schedule includes fewer vaccines than the U.S. schedule, according to data published by European health authorities.
Unlike the United States, Denmark does not routinely recommend vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), rotavirus, hepatitis A, meningococcal disease, influenza, or chickenpox for children. In the U.S., those vaccines are widely recommended, particularly because several of these illnesses are common causes of pediatric hospitalization.
RSV alone is the leading cause of infant hospital admissions in the United States.
Medical Experts Raise Concerns
Several prominent infectious disease experts have questioned why U.S. policymakers would look to Denmark as a model.
“Why would we ever want to emulate that?” said Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine. He argued that Denmark’s approach reflects financial and policy choices rather than lower disease burden.
“They accepted a higher level of hospitalization and suffering,” Offit said. “That was a cost decision.”
Dr. Peter Hotez of Texas Children’s Hospital described the proposal as puzzling and warned that reducing vaccine recommendations could leave American children vulnerable to serious diseases.
“They chose Denmark because it administers fewer vaccines than any Western country,” Hotez said. “But they’re ignoring the epidemiological reality of disease in the United States.”
Different Countries, Different Risks
At a recent meeting of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory committee, newly appointed FDA official Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg presented an overview of Denmark’s vaccine program. Hoeg, who holds dual U.S.-Danish citizenship, argued that Denmark’s system benefits from less political polarization and more open debate.
She also pointed to reduced exposure to aluminum-based adjuvants, which are used in some vaccines to strengthen immune response — a topic Kennedy has frequently criticized despite decades of safety data supporting their use.
However, CDC experts pushed back strongly on the comparison.
“We don’t live in Denmark,” said Dr. Jose Romero of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “Children in the United States face different risks, and our health care system is fundamentally different.”
CDC hepatitis expert Dr. Adam Langer highlighted key differences, including Denmark’s nearly universal hepatitis B screening for pregnant women, a national health registry that tracks individuals throughout life, and stronger follow-up systems for infants exposed to infectious diseases.
“The United States is a unique country,” Langer said, noting that Denmark’s entire population is smaller than New York City’s. “Other high-income countries are not truly peer nations when it comes to how health care is delivered here.”
What Comes Next
While supporters of the proposal argue that fewer vaccines could reduce unnecessary medical intervention, critics warn that scaling back recommendations could reverse decades of progress in preventing childhood illness and hospitalization.
For now, no official changes have been announced. But the debate underscores a growing divide over public health policy, vaccine science, and how much the U.S. should align its medical decisions with other nations.
The final decision is expected sometime in 2026.
HHS Weighs Major Changes to U.S. Childhood Vaccine Schedule, Sources Say
