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US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr delivers remarks while President Donald Trump listens during a news conference to announce an alleged link between autism and childhood vaccines and the use of popular pain medication Tylenol for pregnant women and children, claims which are not backed by decades of science, at the White House [File: Kevin Lamarque\/Reuters]<\/p>\n
The advice usually comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with help from its independent advisers. But the administration of President Donald Trump, in a sweeping overhaul of vaccine policy, began last year pulling back<\/a> on some longstanding recommendations for virus protection and routine children\u2019s vaccinations.<\/p>\n These include recommendations for the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns and the COVID-19 vaccine for US residents older than six months.<\/p>\n Medical associations repeatedly vocally opposed steps taken under Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who is a vaccine sceptic, and said the changes run counter to scientific consensus.<\/p>\n A federal judge has since suspended many of the administration\u2019s measures, ruling in March that the federal government had disregarded science-based methods. That decision has hampered the work of the expert panel advising the CDC on vaccination recommendations.<\/p>\n This year, the federal government has only issued guidance for influenza, or the flu, extending its advice from last year.<\/p>\n The guidance from the medical groups on Wednesday recommended an annual influenza shot for everyone six months and older, as well as updated COVID vaccines for healthy adults, young children and pregnant women. It also advised RSV immunisations for older adults, pregnant women and children younger than eight months.<\/p>\n Influenza had the highest burden<\/a> of the three during the 2025-2026 respiratory virus season, with about 32 million to 52 million cases, 390,000 hospitalisations and 24,000 deaths in the US, according to CDC estimates.<\/p>\n There were about 4.6 million to 12.9 million COVID cases over the same period, with 140,000 to 240,000 hospitalisations and 15,000 to 42,000 deaths, according to CDC preliminary estimates<\/a>.<\/p>\n