Minnesota has decided to maintain its recommendation for a full pediatric vaccine schedule, diverging from recent federal guidance that reduced the number of recommended childhood vaccines. The state’s health officials announced Thursday that they will continue to urge immunizations against 17 infectious diseases, in contrast to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which now recommends 11.
This move is unusual, as state health authorities typically follow federal recommendations. However, Minnesota’s decision aligns with organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, which continue to support a broader vaccine schedule.
“Changes at the federal level reflect policy and process shifts, not new scientific evidence,” said Jessica Hancock-Allen, director of the Minnesota Department of Health’s infectious disease control division. “The science is still the same, and the Minnesota Department of Health is going to follow the science.”
The decision was supported by the Minnesota Medical Association and other groups representing pediatricians, family doctors, and obstetricians in the state.
The change in federal guidance followed President Donald Trump’s appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as U.S. health secretary last year. Kennedy has expressed skepticism about some vaccines’ safety profiles and has advocated for limiting national vaccination recommendations to only essential immunizations.
Last week, Kennedy stated that the new CDC recommendation “protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health” and brings U.S. policy closer to other developed countries with more conservative vaccine schedules.
Both state and federal guidelines agree on vaccinations for diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcal disease, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, human papillomavirus (HPV), and varicella (chicken pox). These remain required on Minnesota’s K-12 vaccine schedule; parents must ensure their children receive these shots or file exemptions.
However, under new CDC guidance there are changes: HPV vaccine doses are reduced from two to one; immunization decisions for rotavirus, COVID-19, influenza, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A and hepatitis B are left to parents in consultation with doctors.
Minnesota continues recommending routine vaccination against all six of these diseases. It also requires hepatitis B and most forms of meningococcal disease immunization before school attendance—policies applying across public, private or online schools.
Hancock-Allen expressed hope that alignment between Minnesota’s stance and major medical organizations would help address parental confusion amid declining vaccination rates among children. She noted that while Minnesota once had one of the nation’s highest measles vaccination rates among incoming students, it now ranks among the lowest; last year’s 26 measles cases tied for third-highest annual total in decades.
“We have all this confusion in the vaccine guidance space,” Hancock-Allen said, “and confusion sows doubt by its very nature.”
She added that adopting a more conservative vaccine schedule may not be as effective in the United States as it is in countries like Denmark due to differences such as universal health care access and longer parental leave policies.
