Jenna’s Side

Jenna’s Side

The Childhood Vaccine Schedule Just Got a Major Trim

Despite what Paul Offit would tell you, celebrations are in order.

Jenna McCarthy's avatar
Jenna McCarthy
Jan 07, 2026
∙ Paid

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For all the MAHA moms and crunchy dads out there who’ve been screaming Bobby Kennedy isn’t doing enough, please pause your sourdough starters and prepare to eat a generous serving of pasture-raised, seed-oil-free crow.

This week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services took an axe to the childhood vaccine schedule, reducing the routine recommendations from 17 to 11, based on an HHS review comparing our bloated protocol to 20 peer nations. Under the revised guidelines, a child receiving only the 11 vaccines on the list would get roughly 13 to 23 total injections from birth through adolescence, compared with the 70-plus last year’s newborns were on track to be subjected to.

[*Pauses to combust at the thought.]

I need daily Jenna.

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