WA keeps recommending 15 vaccines for kids, dismissing new federal guidance

Washington state is continuing to recommend 15 vaccines for children and adolescents, in line with the schedule recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

That’s after federal officials bypassed the U.S.’s vaccine approval process and removed seven vaccines — including those that protect against the flu, rotavirus, hepatitis, some forms of meningitis, and RSV — from the federal vaccine schedule for all children.

“After an exhaustive review of the evidence, we are aligning the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with international consensus,” U.S. health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a press release. “This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health.”

RELATED: Health officials slash the number of vaccines recommended for all kids

But Washington state’s health department says the changes did not consider the prevalence of certain diseases in the United States, or factors like access to urgent health care.

RSV, for example, which the federal government now only recommends for high-risk babies and children, is the leading cause of infant hospitalization in the U.S.

The state health department also criticized the federal government for bypassing the nation’s established process for vaccine recommendations, which used to include a panel of 17 experts who combed through the data on each vaccine, discussed it in meetings open to the public, and then issued guidance. In this case, the health secretary dismissed all the previous members of that panel and replaced them with new members skeptical of vaccines, but did not convene the panel at all before issuing these changes to the childhood vaccine schedule.

“These changes were … not vetted by experts from medical and public health organizations, health care providers, or the public before they were published,” Washington state’s health department wrote in a press release.

In an emailed statement, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said “this weakening of our childhood vaccine schedule nationwide is shocking, unprecedented, and completely unscientific.”

“We strongly encourage families to keep up to date on vaccines recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the West Coast Health Alliance, and talk with trusted public health professionals if they have questions,” Ferguson added. “Unfortunately, the information coming from the federal government on immunizations is no longer reliable.”

State health departments are responsible for school vaccine requirements, which they have generally aligned with federal recommendations. But Washington state is now departing from federal guidance and instead relying on the American Academy of Pediatrics and the West Coast Health Alliance, a collaboration between Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii to issue vaccine recommendations based on the best available science.

RELATED: Washington, Oregon, California form health care alliance to protect vaccine access

Insurance companies are generally only required to cover vaccines recommended by the federal government, but Washington state expects both public and private insurers to continue covering all of the vaccines on the previous schedule at least through the end of 2026.

RELATED: 'Vaccines are the best protection we have.' West Coast states issue their own guidance ahead of feds

Correction, 1/6/25 at 2:50 p.m.: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends 16 vaccines for all children. The academy recommends 15.