RFK Jr. fires entire 17-member CDC vaccine board. Here are the vaccines they recommended
Critics say such a move puts ideology over science, will undermine the government's role in vaccine safety, and could lead to more deadly disease transmissions.
The Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices makes recommendations on the safety, efficacy, and clinical need of vaccines to the CDC. It is comprised of medical and public health experts who develop recommendations on the use of vaccines in the civilian population of the United States.
'Today we are prioritizing the restoration of public trust above any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda,' Kennedy Jr., who has a history of spreading misleading and controversial claims about vaccines, said on June 9 in announcing the overhaul. 'The public must know that unbiased science — evaluated through a transparent process and insulated from conflicts of interest — guides the recommendations of our health agencies.'
Dr. Bruce Scott, president of the American Medical Association, warned that Kennedy Jr's work has undermined trust and "upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives."
"With an ongoing measles outbreak and routine child vaccination rates declining, this move will further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses," he said.
As of June 5, a total of 1,168 confirmed measles cases were reported by 34 jurisdictions, including a child under four in Florida, and three people have died from it. The CDC said the deaths were the first from measles in the United States since 2015.
Kennedy Jr., when asked, has backed vaccination as a preventive tool during a measles outbreak but also said that vaccines should be left to parents' discretion.
'What I would say is my opinions about vaccines are irrelevant,' the health secretary said after being after being asked about the measles vaccine.
On May 27, Kennedy Jr. announced that the COVID-19 vaccine would no longer be included in the CDC's recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women, a reversal of previous expert guidance.
As of June 10, pregnant women are still advised on the CDC website to stay current with COVID boosters, but where the CDC previously recommended COVID vaccines for everyone aged 6 months and older, the updated page now recommends them only for "most adults" aged 18 and older. Parents are instead urged to discuss vaccines for their children with their healthcare provider.
The CDC's advisory committee did not vote on this change, USA TODAY reported, and did not appear in Kennedy Jr.'s social media video announcing it.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration leaders under Kennedy Jr. announced in May that the agency would stop recommending annual COVID-19 vaccines for anyone under the age of 65 without certain medical conditions.
Kennedy, 71, a longtime environmental lawyer and founder of the anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense, has for years promoted several widely discredited views such as Wi-Fi causes cancer, fluoride in public water systems causes bone cancer and IQ loss, and antidepressants are linked to school shootings.
He has also long spread false and misleading claims about vaccines, including the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism, that COVID-19 was 'ethnically targeted' to attack 'Caucasians and Black people' while sparing 'Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese' people, and the measles vaccine caused a measles outbreak. One of his advisors previously petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to withdraw the polio vaccine.
Although he stopped short of recommending measles vaccines, as the outbreak spread Kennedy Jr. did urge parents to consider measles vaccination. However, the health secretary, who has no formal medical training, also recommended other methods of prevention and treatment such as vitamin A, cod liver oil and a healthy diet.
Public health officials and doctors have said there is no evidence to support the claims that such moves prevent or treat measles. The only proven method of preventing measles, at a rate of 97% efficacy, is vaccination, according to the CDC.
Measles outbreak: RFK Jr. touts vitamin A for measles prevention. Doctors disagree.
The adult vaccine list currently recommended by the CDC has not changed since before President Donald Trump took office, but other government websites have updated to fit the priorities of the Trump administration. Here's a list of the vaccines currently recommended by the CDC as of June 10, 2025.
The CDC recommends that everyone be up to date on these routine vaccines:
COVID-19 vaccine and boosters
Flu vaccine (influenza)
Tdap vaccine (tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough) or Td vaccine (tetanus, diphtheria)
Other vaccines that adults may want to consider include:
Chickenpox vaccine – recommended for all adults born in 1980 or later
Hepatitis B vaccine – recommended for all adults up through 59 years of age, and for some adults 60 years of age and older with known risk factors
HPV vaccine – recommended for all adults up through 26 years of age, and for some adults aged 27 through 45 years
MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, and rubella) – recommended for all adults born in 1957 or later
Along with these, other vaccines are recommended for people in different situations.
Tdap vaccine — Get between 27 and 36 weeks of pregnancy to help protect your baby against whooping cough.
Hepatitis B vaccine
Especially make sure you get the flu vaccine if you're pregnant during fly season, October through May.
Along with the routine ones, healthcare works also should get:
Chickenpox vaccine (varicella)
Hepatitis B vaccine
Meningococcal vaccine – especially lab workers who work with Neisseria Meningitidis
MMR vaccine
Each country in the world has its own list of required vaccines, check when you make your plans. The CDC currently has a list here and note that measles cases are increasing across the globe. The World Health Organization also has a list of vaccines international travelers may want.
Talk to your healthcare provider and get any needed vaccines at least four to six weeks before your trip to help build up immunity. You can take the CDC quiz to get a list of vaccines you need based on your lifestyle, travel habits and other factors.
Chickenpox vaccine – recommended for all adults born in 1980 or later
Hepatitis B vaccine – recommended for all adults up through 59 years of age, and for some adults 60 years of age and older with known risk factors
HPV vaccine – recommended for all adults up through 26 years of age, and for some adults aged 27 through 45 years
MMR vaccine – recommended for all adults born in 1957 or later
Shingles vaccine – recommended for all adults 50 years of age and older
Asplenia (without a functioning spleen): Hib vaccine (Haemophilus influenzae type b), Meningococcal vaccines – both MenACWY and MenB, Pneumococcal vaccine
Diabetes, type 1 and type 2: Pneumococcal vaccine
Heart disease, stroke or other cardiovascular diseases: Pneumococcal vaccine
HIV infection: Hepatitis A vaccine, Hepatitis B vaccine, Meningococcal conjugate vaccine (MenACWY). Pneumococcal vaccine, Shingles vaccine. If your CD4 count is 200 or greater, you may also need Chickenpox vaccine and MMR vaccine
Liver disease: Hepatitis A vaccine, Hepatitis B vaccine, Pneumococcal vaccine
Lung disease (Including Asthma or COPD): Pneumococcal vaccine
End-stage renal (kidney) disease: Hepatitis B vaccine, Pneumococcal vaccine
Weakened immune system (excluding HIV infection): Hib vaccine, Pneumococcal vaccines, Meningococcal vaccines (MenACWY and MenB), Shingles vaccine
Birth: Hepatitis B vaccine (1st of 3), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine
1-2 months: DTaP vaccine (1st of 5), Hib vaccine (1st of 3 or 4), Hepatitis B vaccine (2nd of 3), IPV (for polio, 1st of 4), PCV (1st of 4), rotavirus vaccine (1st of 2 or 3)
4 months: DTaP vaccine (2nd of 5), Hib vaccine (2nd of 3 or 4), IPV (2nd of 4), PCV (2nd of 4), rotavirus vaccine (2nd of 2 or 3)
6 months: COVID-19 vaccine, DTaP vaccine (3rd of 5), Hepatitis B vaccine (3rd of 3), IPV (3rd of 4), Hib vaccine (3rd of 3 or 4), PCV (3rd of 4), rotavirus vaccine (3rd of 2 or 3)
7-11 months: Flu vaccine
12 -23 months: Chickenpox vaccine (1st of 2), DTaP vaccine (4th of 5), flu vaccine (every flu season), Hepatitis A vaccine (1st of 2), Hepatitis B vaccine (3rd of 3 between 6 months and 18 months), Hib vaccine (4th of 4), IPV (3rd of 4 between 6 months and 18 months), MMR vaccine (1st of 2), PCV (4th of 4).
2-3 years: Flu vaccine every flu season.
4-6 years: Chickenpox vaccine (2nd of 2), DTaP vaccine (5th of 5), Flu vaccine every flu season, IPV (4th of 4), MMR vaccine (2nd of 2).
7-10 years: Flu vaccine every flu season, good time to catch up on any missing vaccines.
11-12 years: Flu vaccine every flu season, HPV vaccine (2 doses), MenACWY vaccine (1st dose of 2), Tdap vaccine.
13-18 years: Flu vaccine every flu season, MenACWY vaccine (2nd dose of 2), MenB vaccine (2 doses), MenABCWY vaccine.
Baby vaccines: Babies get a lot of vaccines before they turn 2. Is it safe to spread them out instead?
The state of Florida requires certain vaccines to be administered before children may enroll and attend childcare and school. According to the Florida Department of Health, the following vaccines are required, with age-appropriate doses:
Immunizations required for childcare and/or family daycare
Diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP)
Inactivated polio vaccine (IPV)
Measles-mumps-rubella (MMR)
Varicella (chickenpox)
Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV15/20)
Hepatitis B (Hep B)
Public/non-public preschool entry
DTaP
IPV
MMR
Varicella
Hib
Pneumococcal conjugate (PCV15/20)
Hepatitis B (Hep B)
Public/non-public schools kindergarten through 12th grade
Four or five doses of DTaP
Four or five doses of IPV
Two doses of MMR
Three doses of Hep B
One Tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap)
Two doses of Varicella (kindergarten effective with 2008–2009 school year, then an additional grade is added each year thereafter). Varicella vaccine is not required if there is a history of varicella disease documented by the health care provider.
As of 2010, children entering, attending or transferring to the seventh grade in Florida schools must also complete one Tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap).
Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge and Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fires CDC vaccine board, what to know
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'Almost by definition if you have a larger number of women that still have a uterus as they age, it does increase the absolute number of uterine cancer cases.' A systematic database search published in 2020 reported that hysterectomy rates peaked at 10.6 per 1000 women in 1975 and predicted that rates would fall to 3.9 per 1000 by 2035. Wright's natural model study acknowledged a 'substantial racial variation' in hysterectomy rates as a contributing factor for higher uterine cancer rates in Black women, the study stated. But even adjusting for declining hysterectomy rates, rising rates of obesity and aging, the numbers of uterine cancers are still rising, Kemi Doll, MD, director of the Gynecologic Research and Cancer Equity Canter at the University of Washington in Seattle, said, in an interview. 'We need to think outside of the box to potential environmental exposures that may have affected the currently aging generation, and uterine cancer is a clue to find out what that is,' Doll said. The Disordered State of Screening 'One of the problems for uterine cancers is there are no real widespread recommendations for either screening or prevention for uterine cancer in a majority of the population,' Wright said. Indeed, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the Society of Gynecologic Oncology, among other clinical organizations, concurred in 2015 guidance that no effective routine screening exists for endometrial cancer in women with no symptoms. The guidance suggests that abnormal postmenopausal bleeding is a trigger for immediate evaluation with biopsy, ultrasound or hysteroscopy-guided screening. Another risk factor is Lynch syndrome, previously known as hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer. Women with the condition are at a 13%-26% increased risk for endometrial cancer, according to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. For them, ACOG recommends annual endometrial sampling starting at age 30-35. Women who previously took tamoxifen for breast cancer may also have greater risk for endometrial cancer. Its use has long been associated with a heightened risk for endometrial cancer, with the risk increasing the longer a patient is on the drug. But, again, no routine screening is recommended for users with no symptoms, although ACOG has stated that pretreatment screening may have a role before starting tamoxifen therapy. The lack of effective screening tests for uterine cancers and detecting predictors of uterine cancer complicates the outlook, Wright said. 'Neither exist currently,' he said. Endometrial thickness > 4 mm, as measured on transvaginal ultrasound, is a biomarker for endometrial cancer. Despite this, Doll and her coauthors recently found that transvaginal ultrasound may not be reliable for evaluating endometrial thickness in Black women. ' This study underlines the importance of new strategies that do not rely on a patient to have a symptom or a provider to believe them,' Doll said. What Clinicians Can Do Despite the absence of routine screening protocols or preventive strategies for uterine cancers, clinicians must become more astute about warning signs and symptoms, Doll said. These include abnormal menstrual bleeding, which Wright said is a symptom most women diagnosed with uterine cancer have. 'Women that have abnormal bleeding should be evaluated in a timely manner and the clinician, the gynecologist, must recognize the importance of bleeding and rule out uterine cancer,' Wright said. Doll called for primary care providers to actively screen for abnormal and postmenopausal bleeding and provider education about 'the limits of ultrasound triage and the need for tissue biopsy with any concern for endometrial cancer.' 'We need to educate the public, especially those most at risk, about endometrial cancer symptoms and early detection,' she continued. Disproportionate Rise in Black Women Why uterine cancer rates in Black women are rising disproportionately compared with other groups is unclear, according to experts interviewed for this piece. 'Black women have been left behind in the world of uterine cancer research and it shows. Now that we have an increasing epidemic of nonendometrioid cancers — the histology that was always more common among Black women — we are faced with our major knowledge gaps in the etiology of these cancers and the fact our treatments are much less successful for them,' Doll said. Timothy Rebbeck, PhD, a researcher specializing in cancer prevention at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, pointed to some potential explanations. Tumors in Black patients with prostate and colon cancers have unique molecular signatures compared with other ethnic groups, Rebbeck said. 'We think it's probably happening in uterine cancers as well.' Tumors in Black women may be more aggressive, he added. Reproductive history may also come into play. The lack of screening for uterine cancer may also mean that Black women are diagnosed later in the disease course than other groups. It's an area prime for more research, Rebbeck said. The natural model study was supported by the National Cancer Institute. Wright reported receiving grant funding from Merck. Doll and Rebbeck had no relevant disclosures.
