President Donald Trump on Friday signed a memorandum that will start a process to align vaccines recommended for all children with practices from certain other countries.
According to a White House fact sheet, the memorandum has directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to review best practices followed by “peer, developed” countries for core vaccine recommendations for children and the scientific evidence behind those practices.
“If the HHS Secretary and the CDC Director determine that those best practices are superior to current domestic recommendations, they are directed to update the United States core childhood vaccine schedule to align with such scientific evidence and best practices from peer, developed countries while preserving access to vaccines currently available to Americans,” the fact sheet said.
Presently, the U.S. recommends vaccinating all children for 18 diseases, including COVID-19. The White House fact sheet highlighted that, in comparison, countries such as Denmark, Japan, and Germany recommend vaccinations for only 10, 14, and 15 diseases, respectively.
Many peer countries do not recommend yearly influenza vaccinations for all children, and practices such as hepatitis B vaccination at birth, which is standard in the U.S., are uncommon in most developed countries, the White House said.
The CDC currently recommends hepatitis B vaccination at birth with GSK’s (GSK) Engerix-B and Merck’s (MRK) Recombivax HB. The CDC also recommends respiratory syncytial virus vaccination for pregnant women with Pfizer’s (PFE) Abrysvo.
The White House fact sheet was published on the same day the CDC voted to recommend that the parents of newborns whose mothers test negative for hepatitis B should discuss with their health care provider whether their child should get the vaccine through shared decision-making.
Other vaccines recommended by the CDC from birth to 15 months of age include MRK’s RotaTeq and GSK’s Rotarix for rotavirus; Sanofi’s (SNY) Quadracel, Pentacel, and Vaxelis shots for diphtheria, tetanus, & acellular pertussis; and MRK’s Pneumovax 23 and PFE’s Prevnar 20 for pneumococcal diseases.
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