I was asked about this new E.O. from the White House. My thoughts:

A. This has no immediate operational effect. It is contingent on CDC and ACIP reviewing the data and making specific decisions, and right now there's no functioning ACIP, and it should take a little time to reconstitute it, if they want to go through any serious process.

B. It is relying on the very bad memorandum from Küldorff and Høeg, which is badly reasoned and partial. Any decisions just on that are going to run into trouble if there's judicial review.

C. It does open the door to reducing the schedule.

D. It does have language that looks like a nod to shared clinical decision making.

E. It says, at least at this point, that the Department will continue to cover vaccines via insurance.

I don't know if it's supposed to ever be operational - if it's preparation for re-doing the January 2026 action in a more judicial-proof way - or if it's a sop to Kennedy and his supporters after many public blows. Could be either.

"Pursuant to the Presidential Memorandum of December 5, 2025 (Aligning United States Core Childhood Vaccine Recommendations with Best Practices from Peer, Developed Countries) (Memorandum), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) completed a scientific assessment that compared United States childhood immunization recommendations with those of peer nations, analyzed vaccine uptake and public trust, evaluated clinical and epidemiological evidence and knowledge gaps, and examined vaccine mandates (scientific assessment). The scientific assessment found that the United States currently recommends more childhood vaccines than any peer nation, including more than twice as many vaccine doses as some European nations, and identified a set of consensus vaccines that are consistently recommended in all peer countries. The scientific assessment also found that, instead of implementing vaccination mandates, most peer nations maintain high childhood vaccination rates through public trust and education.

My Administration is committed to ensuring that Americans are receiving the best scientifically supported medical advice in the world. Additionally, my Administration is committed to protecting religious liberty and parental authority. Therefore, it is the policy of the United States that the core childhood vaccine schedule should be aligned with scientific evidence and best practices from peer, developed countries while preserving access to vaccines currently available to Americans and that the Federal Government will continue to protect religious freedom and enforce all legal protections for parents.

Sec. 2. Updating the Childhood Vaccine Schedule. (a) The scientific assessment, with its proposed updates to the categories of the vaccine schedule, is acknowledged as a guiding resource for the Federal Government.

(b) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) shall review the scientific assessment and the latest clinical data and, to the extent permitted by law, take any appropriate steps to update the United States childhood and adolescent vaccine schedule. ACIP’s review should consider ways to provide maximum flexibility to parents and doctors through recommendations for timing and sequencing of the administration of routine immunizations.

(c) Each executive department and agency shall ensure all actions, regulations, funding, and coverage related to child and adolescent immunizations align with the schedule recommended by the ACIP and adopted by the CDC, including fulfilling all legal obligations with respect to parental authority, religious freedom, disability accommodations, and equal protection under the law. Specifically, consistent with the Memorandum and as recommended in the scientific assessment, all the immunizations that are in any category on the schedule recommended by the ACIP and adopted by the CDC should continue to be covered without cost sharing by private insurance and covered by Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Vaccines for Children Program."