After Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became the nation\u2019s top health official in February, pediatrician Jeff Couchman started getting a lot of questions from worried parents. They\u2019d ask: \u2018Are vaccines going to be available? Can we give my kid every possible shot today just to make sure?\u2019 said Couchman, who practices at Mesquite Pediatrics in Tucson, Arizona.<\/p>\n
So, for the first time, Couchman and his colleagues have started offering vaccines on an accelerated schedule. They\u2019re giving a second dose of the MMR vaccine to prevent measles, mumps and rubella as early as 15 months of age, though it\u2019s not typically recommended until age 4. And they\u2019re offering shots to prevent HPV, a common sexually transmitted infection that can cause cancer, starting at age 9, two years earlier than the government suggests. <\/p>\n
There are risks to giving shots too early. Government vaccine advisers developed the schedule for childhood shots by looking at the results of clinical studies and scrutinizing how the human immune system changes from infancy to adulthood, among other factors. For some vaccines, like the ones Couchman is doling out ahead of schedule, doctors know adjusting the timing by a few months or even years makes little difference. But for others, deviating from the schedule means the shot won\u2019t be fully effective, or could pose other problems that haven\u2019t yet been discovered.<\/p>\n
Pediatricians across the U.S. interviewed by Bloomberg said they\u2019re now working with parents to carefully weigh those risks against the threat posed by Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy\u2019s leadership. Their key concern is that after Kennedy fired some of the government\u2019s top vaccine experts and appointed replacements who have promoted dubious theories about the safety and efficacy of shots, the U.S. may ultimately stop calling for their use. That could lead to higher costs for patients or shortages.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m worried that any moment now vaccines will not be recommended anymore,\u201d said Eli Fels-McDowell in Lexington, Kentucky, who recently got her daughter a second dose of the MMR vaccine earlier than usual, at age 3, and a COVID vaccine after Kennedy said it was no longer recommended for healthy kids. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to limbo under the bar really quickly.\u201d Pediatricians like Couchman are seeing a significant number of requests for early vaccinations, with about 45 families showing up for a special clinic in March, and about 227 children between 1 and 4 receiving early second doses of the measles vaccine.<\/p>\n
Last month, an influential seven-person vaccine advisory panel handpicked by Kennedy said it would form a committee to review childhood vaccines. If the group reverses course and opts to no longer back the well-established childhood shot schedule, it will affect access to those vaccines. The panel, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, helps guide which shots insurance companies fully cover and whether manufacturers are shielded from legal liability over side effects.<\/p>\n
Giving a vaccine early can still fall within government guidelines. The CDC recommends a child get the second MMR vaccine dose between age 4 and 6, but says it can be sooner if it\u2019s at least 28 days after the first. While the HPV vaccine series is recommended at 11 or 12, the CDC says it can be started at age 9. Still, deviating too far from the schedule can make pediatricians uncomfortable. In some cases, giving a shot well before the recommended age poses unknown risks.<\/p>\n
The recent trend of parents requesting early vaccinations due to concerns over the potential changes in vaccine policies under Kennedy\u2019s leadership highlights the complexities and challenges faced by pediatricians and parents alike. As the situation continues to evolve, it is crucial for parents to consult with their pediatricians to make informed decisions about their children\u2019s health, weighing the potential risks and benefits of deviating from the recommended vaccine schedule.<\/p>\n
Introduction to the Concerns of Parents and Pediatricians After Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became the nation\u2019s top health official in February, pediatrician Jeff Couchman started getting a lot of questions from worried parents. They\u2019d ask: \u2018Are vaccines going to be available? Can we give my kid every possible shot today just to make sure?\u2019 said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":17415,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17414","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-wellness"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/202507090400MCT_____PHOTO____US-NEWS-HEALTH-EARLY-SHOTS-GET.jpg?w=1400px&strip=all&w=1400&resize=1400,933&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17414"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17414"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17414\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17416,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17414\/revisions\/17416"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}