Protecting Our Future: Why the U.S. Childhood Vaccine Schedule Overhaul Risks Global Health
News
Jan 7, 2026
The World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) has issued a critical statement regarding the announced changes to the United States childhood immunization schedule. Our message is clear: Children’s health is not a policy experiment.
Childhood immunization schedules are among the most rigorously tested and monitored public health interventions in history. Built on decades of scientific evidence and comprehensive safety surveillance, these schedules have saved millions of lives. Altering them without a transparent, evidence-based justification puts child health and public trust at serious risk.
The Hidden Costs of Disrupting Proven Immunization Schedules
Vaccines do more than protect individuals; they safeguard entire communities. Disrupting established schedules can lead to delayed vaccinations, renewed outbreaks of preventable diseases, and avoidable hospitalizations. History shows that even modest declines in coverage can lead to rapid, severe consequences for the global population.
The Looming Equity Crisis
The proposed overhaul will not affect all children equally. Those from low-income families, rural areas, and racial or ethnic minority communities will bear the heaviest burden. In the U.S., vaccination rates already show disparities; for example, data have historically demonstrated that children living below the federal poverty level often have lower vaccination coverage rates for key vaccines than those at or above it.
Professor Raman Bedi, President-elect of the WFPHA and Emeritus Professor at King’s College London, warns:
“I am profoundly concerned that these changes will disproportionately and negatively impact the marginalized and vulnerable. When public health policy wavers, it is always those with the least who suffer the most.”
Global Implications and the Erosion of Trust
U.S. immunization policy exerts a profound influence worldwide. Decisions made domestically shape international debates and impact vaccine confidence far beyond U.S. borders. Misinformation is currently running rampant, and policy changes that appear politicized risk fundamentally undermining confidence in vaccine safety.
As Professor Michael Moore, Chair of the WFPHA International Immunization Policy Taskforce, emphasizes: “Undermining proven vaccine schedules is not innovation—it is gambling with children’s lives.”
A Call to Prioritize Scientific Integrity
The WFPHA urges U.S. decision-makers to keep children’s health and equity at the center of immunization policy.
We can do this with three actions:
- Uphold Scientific Integrity: Policy must remain grounded in comprehensive safety surveillance.
- Protect Public Trust: Transparent justification is required for any change to established medical protocols.
- Focus on Equity: Ensure that policy changes do not widen existing health disparities.
The consequences of failure will be measured in preventable disease and shattered confidence; impacts that will fall most heavily on those already facing the most significant barriers to health. Once trust is weakened, restoration is painfully difficult and its children who pay the price.
Let’s prevent that.