Washington must not limit access to childhood vaccines

The politicization of public health, growing misinformation, and unnecessary shifts in federal recommendations opposed by the medical community are fueling confusion over proven childhood vaccines. Despite that, Americans have continued to make clear their desire to maintain widespread access to vaccines and keep decision-making on immunization between them and their physicians.Recent polling reveals a majority of voters across the nation are opposed to a recent executive order rewriting the federal childhood vaccine schedule.Presented as a return of medical decision-making to parents from the hands of government in the name of safety, the executive order outlines changes to federal vaccine recommendations that will neither make American children safer nor give parents more control over their children’s health. To protect American families across the country and put choices back into their hands, members of Congress and state officials must listen to their constituents on vaccinations and reject the new recommendation schedule. Federal vaccine schedules are not merely advice. They have consequences beyond the doctor’s office, including what vaccines insurers must cover without a copay, which vaccines are purchased by a federal program that supplies vaccines to roughly half of America’s children, and, in many states, what vaccines a pharmacist may administer without a separate doctor’s visit. Changes to the recommended childhood schedule affect whether families obtain vaccines through familiar providers, how much they pay, and whether access becomes more complicated.The recent directive for the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine is a prime example. President Donald Trump’s order calls for the combined vaccine to be replaced with three separate shots once individual products are domestically available. Individual vaccines for measles, mumps, and rubella are not currently licensed in the United States after being discontinued almost two decades ago. Former manufacturers of the products report that bringing them back to market could take up to a decade. Directing families toward products that are not currently available does not expand meaningful choice. It creates delays, confusion, and uncertainty.If the administration wants to provide greater parental control over immunization, policymakers should ask whether these changes expand choice or simply make some choices harder to exercise. Parental choice requires more than the freedom to decline a shot. It also requires the ability to obtain one.Polling suggests voters recognize the distinction between parental freedom and government-created barriers. In a national survey conducted in September, 59% of voters nationwide oppose the EO on vaccines, expressing that doctors and families, not the federal government and politicians, should have more say over childhood immunization decisions. Nearly 9 in 10 (87%) polled voters want insurers to continue covering the vaccines that were dropped, while a similarly impressive majority (77%) support standard childhood vaccine requirements for public schools.Our leaders should recognize that protecting vaccine access and preserving personal choice are not competing principles; they are part of the same responsibility, and one that constituents are counting on them to uphold. Over half of voters surveyed said a candidate’s support for the EO made them less likely to vote for that candidate in the midterm elections. In four conservative-leaning states surveyed last fall, two-thirds of respondents strongly opposed ending vaccine requirements.Americans deserve the right to make their own decisions about their vaccination status. The new federal vaccine schedule creates unnecessary barriers for those families who do want to vaccinate their children. States can preserve coverage, protect reliable access through public and private channels, and keep school vaccination policies grounded in sound science and public-health needs.OPINION: AMERICA’S REAL 2026 MEASLES DEATH TOLL IS FAR MORE THAN ‘TWO’Congress can ensure that shifting federal recommendations do not quietly end insurance coverage or jeopardize these vaccines’ eligibility for the injury-compensation program. And leaders at all levels can ensure parents receive clear, accurate information about vaccines and retain the ability to make decisions with their children’s physicians.Washington does not need to decide which vaccines every American family should be able to access. A parent cannot make a decision on how best to protect their child if there are no longer any options. State leaders and members of Congress should listen to voters, do what’s right for their constituents, and preserve Americans’ right to meaningful choice and informed decision-making.Jeffrey Mazzella is president of the Center for Individual Freedom.