Missouri doctor worries new child vaccine recommendations will lead to uncertainty for families

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reducing the number of "universal vaccine recommendations" for children to 11, down from the previous total of 17. One Missouri doctor worries the change may lead to confusion for families.

The CDC announced on Monday that it was cutting the number of recommended vaccinations from disease, effective immediately. The change came after President Donald Trump directed the US Department of Health and Human Services to look into how other countries go about their recommendations.

Vaccinations are now split into three categories: Vaccines for all children, those who are considered "high risk" and on a shared-decision making basis, meaning families and physicians discuss what's best for the child. Vaccinations against illnesses such as influenza, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis and COVID-19 are among those no longer universally recommended.

Those recommended for all children still include vaccines against measles, whooping cough, polio, tetanus, chickenpox and human papillomavirus, or HPV.

Dr. Thuylinh Pham, who is the vice president of the Missouri Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said she worries the move will lead to uncertainty for parents when trying to decide whether or not to vaccinate their child.

"We already have lots of conversations with families prior to these recommendations on vaccinations and the risk and benefits but adding this brings another level," Pham said. "'Well what is high risk? I mean why or why not? Should I be getting these vaccines?' And I feel like it just puts another barrier that less and less people will choose to vaccinate."

National reporting shows doctors across the country have criticized the move, claiming it was made without evidence that the current vaccine schedule is harming children and that it was made without consulting with an advisory committee. Some also fear that the decrease could lead to certain diseases resurfacing.

Vaccination rates have also been slipping across the country and preventable diseases-- such as measles and whooping cough-- rose in the U.S. last year. More than 2,000 cases of measles -- which had previously been declared eliminated in 2000 -- were reported around the country in 2025.

When asked if she believed the new recommendations could possibly lead to an influx of illnesses within children in Missouri, Pham said it's too early to know for sure.

"What I can speak on is we are already having vaccine preventable illnesses and outbreaks within our community. We've already seen the measles outbreak across the country. We're seeing outbreaks of whooping cough and pertussis within our communities and it's definitely hitting children who are unvaccinated much harder," Pham said.

Pham said the state typically sees pockets of unvaccinated children and with that, comes the risk of putting the community at risk. She said since the COVID-19 pandemic, child vaccination rates have declined, which is largely in part due to misinformation, barrier access and insurance problems. Pham believes Monday's announcement will make things worse.

Board President of the Missouri Immunization Coalition Lynelle Phillips also said the change makes her concerned for children's safety and emphasized the domino effect one child not getting vaccinated can have on a community.

"As soon as you have a cohort of children that are not getting vaccinated and we lose that threshold of immunity, then we're looking at disease transmission among other children that are really vulnerable," Phillips said.

According to HHS officials, the change will not affect the amount of vaccines available or health insurance coverage of vaccines.

Boone Health spokesman Christian Basi said the change only impacts the hospital's maternity ward, which welcomes roughly 100-150 babies each month. Basi said doctors always practice having conversations with parents about the recommended vaccines and decide together what is best for the child.

Basi said he encourages parents and families to continue to have those conversations with their child's doctor, and said he doesn't expect to see much of a change at Boone due to the new recommendations.

"Our doctors are still going to be providing their recommendations based on the scientific evidence and their experience," Basi said. "Which for us means you're dealing with doctors who have had decades of experience with newborns and they are very up-to-date on the latest scientific information, on the latest studies and understand all of the different types and options of vaccines that are out there."

MU Health Care was not available for an interview on Tuesday, but a spokesman sent ABC 17 News the following statement via email:

"Our childhood immunization protocols are based on the best medical evidence for how to protect children/patients. We use guidance from multiple sources to create our protocols and always include parents in the decision-making process," spokesman Eric Maze wrote. "It's also important to note that there is no change to the insurance coverage of childhood vaccinations."

Pham said she urges people to continue having conversations with their doctors moving forward to make informed decisions about their child's healths.

"The science has not changed. The American Academy of Pediatrics and experts have come up with the vaccination schedule that is really tailored to our population here in the United States where we have different diseases than other locations and a different health care system," Pham said.