Vaccination Shakeup

Physicians React to CDC's Newly Revised Recommendations for Children

- by DEMI GUILLORY

In early January, the CDC announced changes to the U.S. childhood vaccination schedule, reducing the number of immunizations regularly recommended for all children.

The new guidelines break the vaccines into the following categories:

RECOMMENDED FOR ALL CHILDREN
• MMR • DTaP • PCV
• Polio • TDaP • HPV
• Chickenpox • Hib • Polio

RECOMMENDED FOR THOSE AT HIGH RISK
• RSV • Meningococcal
• Hepatitis A • Dengue
• Hepatitis B

BASED ON SHARED CLINICAL DECISION-MAKING
• Rotavirus • Covid-19 • Flu

While the new recommendations aren't a mandate, the CDC's guidelines have previously been used to guide insurance and school admission requirements.

Dr. Sergio Seoane, who made clear he was speaking as an individual physician and that his views do not represent the position of the Polk County Medical Association, shared multiple concerns regarding the new recommendations, and they go far beyond worrying they will result in lower vaccination rates.

“These recommendations have circumvented the time-tested, structured, evidence-based approach we have had for decades,” he says, adding that the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the American Academy of Pediatrics were not consulted.

In addition, Seoane says, “De-emphasizing vaccinations and decreasing universal recommendations may lead to insurance companies denying coverage. Insurance companies do not need another excuse to deny care and treatment.”

Seoane also disagrees with the comparison tactics used to reformulate the recommendations, which he calls confusing because of the new tiered system.

“Using Denmark and Japan as a benchmark for comparison to the United States regarding healthcare is flawed.” He goes on to cite the many differences between the countries, including size, healthcare systems, ethnic diversity, and population.