The Vaccine Intelligence Report—brought to you by Vaccinate Your Family—provides clear, fact-based updates on vaccine policy, research, and public health each week. This report is part of Viral Truths, a resource designed to cut through the noise, offering concise information to help navigate the evolving immunization landscape.
2025 marked a period of substantial change in U.S. vaccine policy, oversight, and leadership, with lasting implications for federal agencies, vaccine recommendations and public sentiment. This year-end review summarizes the most notable developments and decisions that occurred across the vaccine landscape this year.
Federal Leadership Changes and Transitions
- The year included several leadership changes across federal health agencies with responsibility for vaccine oversight, including the confirmation of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya.
- The period also saw leadership turnover, including the departure and return of CDER Director Dr. Vinay Prasad and the removal of CDC Director Dr. Susan Monarez after approximately one month in the role.
Overhaul of ACIP and Changes to Vaccine Recommendations
- Secretary Kennedy initiated a sweeping overhaul of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which has resulted in major changes to the committee’s composition and to shifts in vaccine policy.
- In June, Kennedy announced the removal of all 17 sitting members. He has since named 12 new members, several of whom have been critical of vaccines and vaccine policy.
- The new committee established a new work group on the childhood vaccination schedule to consider topics including vaccination timing, concurrent administration, and vaccine ingredients.
- In August, HHS barred professional medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and American Medical Association (AMA), from participating in ACIP work groups, which are responsible for advising the committee on vaccine recommendations.
- The new committee members met in June, September, and December and voted to:
- Recommend removing thimerosal, a vaccine preservative, from multi-dose flu vaccines;
- No longer recommend the combination MMRV vaccine for children under the age of 4—and instead only recommend the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) and varicella (chickenpox) separately for this age group;
- Remove the universal Covid vaccine recommendation and change the recommendation to “shared clinical decision-making;” and
- Remove the universal hepatitis B birth vaccine recommendation—instead only recommending the birth dose for infants born to mothers who test positive for hepatitis B or whose status is unknown and recommending shared clinical decision-making for children whose mothers test negative, with the first dose no earlier than 2 months if the birth dose is deferred.
- During the December meeting, ACIP began a broader discussion of the childhood vaccine schedule, which is expected to continue in 2026.
Covid Vaccine Policy Changes; Growing Misalignment between CDC and Medical Organizations
- Covid vaccines in particular have been the subject of much scrutiny this year:
- In May, Makary and Prasad laid out a new Covid vaccine regulatory framework, under which the FDA only recommends vaccination for adults 65 and older and people at risk for severe illness. They also put in place new clinical trial requirements for Covid vaccine approval for healthy Americans under 65.
- Shortly thereafter, Kennedy made the unilateral decision to stop recommending Covid vaccination for healthy pregnant women and children (before ACIP removed the universal recommendation).
- A coalition of medical and public health organizations filed a lawsuit against Kennedy over the move, which has since been amended to include the Secretary’s changes to ACIP as well.
- In accordance with the FDA’s new framework, the agency approved updated Covid vaccines for 2025-2026 in August, but only for people 65 and older and adults 18 to 64 with a higher-risk health condition.
- The vaccine recommendation changes have led to misalignment between the CDC/ACIP and major medical organizations, experts, and state health agencies:
- In August, AAP, ACOG, and others published their own vaccine guidance, which continues to recommend Covid vaccination for children 6 months and older and pregnant women.
- Over 60 medical organizations rejected the withdrawal of the universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth, and groups including AAP continue to recommend the birth dose.
- The Vaccine Integrity Project—an initiative dedicated to upholding evidence-based guidance for vaccine use—conducted independent analyses of respiratory (Covid, RSV, and flu) and hepatitis B vaccines and found the vaccines were safe and effective.
- Many states formed their own public health alliances to develop and disseminate vaccine advice in alignment with medical organizations.
- West Coast Health Alliance: CA, HI, OR, WA
- Northeast Public Health Collaborative: CT, DE, ME, MA, MD, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT
- Governor’s Public Health Alliance: CA, CO, CT, DE, HI, IL, MD, MA, NJ, NY, NC, OR, RI, WA, Guam
Efforts to Change VICP and Link Autism to Vaccines
- This year, Kennedy also initiated changes to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP):
- In July, he announced plans to reform the program, and HHS reinstated the Task Force on Safer Childhood Vaccines in August, which will focus on vaccine adverse events.
- HHS is reportedly working on policy changes that would broaden the VICP covered injuries to include autism symptoms.
- The Advisory Commission on Childhood Vaccines (ACCV), a federal advisory committee that reviews issues related to VICP, is meeting on December 29.
- HHS leadership advanced the widely discredited theory linking vaccines and autism throughout the year.
Vaccinate Your Family is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to protecting people of all ages from vaccine-preventable diseases. To learn more, visit us at: vaccinateyourfamily.org
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