The U.S. childhood vaccination schedule has been dramatically reduced, purportedly because, as federal health officials argued, the now-discarded schedule recommended children get far more vaccines than kids in โpeer countries.โ
But did it really? And has reducing the number of diseases all children are advised to be vaccinated against to 11 from 18 brought the United States in line with most other affluent countries?
Two words. No and no.
In fact, the pared-down U.S. vaccine schedule now aims to protect children against fewer diseases than all but one of the 20 so-called peer countries whose schedules were presented by federal health officials as the rationale for the policy change.
That sole country is Denmark, an international outlier that currently recommends vaccines to protect against only 10 diseases for all children.ย …
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The revised U.S. schedule also recommends vaccines against fewer diseases than a range of other countries including Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil, China, Taiwan, and even the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau, whose childhood vaccination schedule includes vaccines to protect against 12 childhood diseases.
