Amid Rampant Flu Outbreak in US, Government’s Cut to Childhood Vaccine Recommendations Sparks Controversy

As a severe flu outbreak sweeps across the United States, with infection rates surging to the highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, children and adolescents have emerged as one of the hardest-hit groups. However, at this critical juncture for epidemic prevention and control, the Trump administration announced on Monday (the 5th) a reduction in the types of vaccines recommended for all children, with the flu vaccine prominently included on the trimmed list. This decision has triggered widespread concerns in the public health sector. Experts warn that it could lead to a sharp rise in hospitalizations and deaths that could have been prevented by vaccines, further exacerbating the already grim flu control situation in the US.

Data released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the same day vividly demonstrates the urgency of the current outbreak: since the start of this flu season, at least 11 million people in the US have been infected with the flu, and the death toll has reached 5,000. More alarmingly, the number of visits to doctors or emergency departments due to flu symptoms has climbed to the highest level since before the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020. In the last week of last year, the CDC also classified this wave of flu as moderately severe for the first time—a rating indicating that the outbreak has imposed significant pressure on the public health system.

Public health experts generally agree that the outbreak risks further deterioration. CDC data shows that by the end of last year, the flu vaccination rate among US adults was less than 43%, leaving a glaring gap in the herd immunity barrier. To make matters worse, the current surge in flu cases across the country is mainly driven by a new variant of the H3N2 influenza virus, known as the "super flu." The existing vaccines have a poor match with this variant, resulting in drastically reduced protective efficacy.

Dr. Paul Offit, a virologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, holds an even more pessimistic view: the US is still far from the peak of the outbreak. "We actually don't know how potent this virus is, nor how long it can persist in the population," he stated. He further pointed out that this variant possesses strong immune evasion capabilities, potentially breaking through the immunity acquired either through vaccination or previous infection. This characteristic not only exposes more Americans to the risk of reinfection but also accelerates the virus's spread among the population.

The health status of children has become the most worrying aspect of this outbreak. CDC data reveals that in the last week of last year, over 8% of all emergency department visits nationwide were caused by the flu. Among children aged 5 to 17, this proportion soared to more than 20%, while the emergency visit rate for children under 4 years old also reached 18%. Historical data sounds an even louder alarm: last winter, 280 children in the US died from the flu—the highest number since 2009. What’s more, the US flu season typically lasts until May of the following year, and the current period is still in the early stages of the outbreak, meaning that children will face persistent risks for months to come.

Just at this critical window for epidemic prevention and control, the US government’s vaccine policy adjustment runs counter to the prevailing needs. On the same day, the US officially terminated the long-standing directive recommending that all children receive vaccines against influenza and three other diseases. This sweeping change not only fulfills the long-standing policy goal of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. but also means that the CDC’s list of recommended vaccines for children has been drastically shortened; currently, it only advises all children to get vaccinated against 11 diseases.

The vaccines removed from the universal recommendation list this time include those for influenza, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, certain types of meningitis, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Following the policy adjustment, these vaccines will only be recommended for specific high-risk groups, or left to parental discretion under the so-called "shared decision-making" framework with physicians. This change contradicts the globally recognized consensus that vaccination is the most cost-effective and efficient means of preventing infectious diseases, and it particularly overlooks the physiological characteristic that children’s immune systems are not yet fully developed, making them more vulnerable to infectious threats.

Vaccine experts have sharply criticized this adjustment, arguing that it puts American children at higher risk of diseases. Dr. Sean O’Leary of the American Academy of Pediatrics directly pointed out the unscientific nature of the policy change: "These modifications are driven by politically appointed officials, and there is no evidence whatsoever that the current vaccine recommendations are harmful to children."