Neighbor Thursday: What happened with the childhood vaccination schedule?

A global perspective

Well, nothing good happened with the revised childhood vaccination schedule, for starters.

A few days ago, RFK Jr. changed the childhood vaccination schedule in one swoop - without due process, scientific justification, new data to support the change…anything! This week, you have likely heard widespread outcry from those of us in medicine and public health. It might feel like we are saying ‘the sky is falling’ and overreacting a bit. But this is not an overreaction. The ramifications of this decision are like an earthquake, disrupting health systems and creating uncertainties for all of us. And children will be harmed.

As a global health epidemiologist, I worry about the ripple effects this will have globally. With many, many, many global health programs (like USAID, GAVI, WHO programs, etc) already halted, dismantled, paused, stopped, and slowed from terrible decisions made by the administration in 2025, this reckless change in the US childhood vaccine program will matter globally. If we were playing Jenga, it’s like the previous dismantling of global health programs for children was the majority of Jenga pieces coming out - and if the Jenga game is still standing, this could be the last piece to come out before it topples.

That’s because one of the most successful global public health interventions ever is vaccines for children.

Over the past 50 years, vaccines have saved 154 million lives - of which 101 million were babies.

Picture here.

I say all of that from a global perspective because other countries have historically looked at what the US does (for better or for worse). It’s a combination of a holdover of colonialism (very likely) and US dominated the global health space in terms of funding. But, that ‘soft power’ of the US still holds true for global health (again, for better or for worse). So, my worry is that other countries will start questioning tried-and-true science and historical data showing that vaccines are safe, effective, and have saved millions of lives around the world - ESPECIALLY for the most vulnerable. Globally, we are already seeing some of that, particularly in countries with leaders similar to ours in the US.

I’m headed to Africa in a few weeks, and many of the communities I visit have lost access to critical and lifesaving HIV care, bednets for malaria, vaccine disruptions, and … The world is so small, friends. What we do here (in the US) matters to the rest of this gorgeous globe we live in. This newsletter goes out to 160 countries, and many of you live in areas that have been affected by the US decisions. I’m just worried that this new decision, the unilateral, unfounded decision by RFK Jr. will affect the vulnerable the most. Reckless power always does.

So, what can you do? What can we do?

1. If you’re here in the US, know your rights and your facts about the vaccination schedule changes. You still have the right to access all childhood immunizations - it doesn’t matter if your child is on the high-risk list or not. The American Academy of Pediatrics (and other leading US healthcare organizations) are pushing back and still recommending the previous schedule (you can find it here).

2. You can also call/write your Congress people and reps. You can find your reps here by zip code. You can find your senators here.

3. Be informed. The Evidence Collective that I’m a part of wrote a great brief summarizing the changes to the childhood vaccination schedule and the ramifications. You can download it here.

If 2025 was a year of me asking ‘what just happened?’, 2026 is a year of saying ‘enough is enough’. All of my public health friends that I trust are saying the same. Advocate for our littlest neighbors - our children - and let’s do this together.

In solidarity,

Emily