Category: News in the Field

CDC Weakens U.S. Guidance on Childhood Vaccinations in Line with White House Directive (January 7, 2026)

In a drastic and unprecedented decision that was made in response to a directive from President Donald Trump, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will now universally recommend 11 vaccines instead of the previous 17, a move that the Department for Health and Human Services said would better align the U.S. schedule with those of certain other wealthy nations. The decision is effective immediately.

The agency will continue endorsing immunizations against “diseases for which there is international consensus,” among them polio and measles. However, shots for other infections, such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), meningitis, and hepatitis A and B, will only be recommended for “high-risk groups,” while vaccines for flu, COVID and rotavirus would be given through “shared clinical decision-making.”

Although the  new recommendations are not a mandate, as individual states craft their own vaccine requirements, CDC’s guidance is expected to influence statewide decisions.

For more from K-12 Dive, click here.

USDA Report Shows 14.1 Million Children Experienced Food Insecurity, But Agency Plans to Stop Providing Such Data (January 7, 2026)

Food insecurity among households with children slightly rose between 2023 and 2024, according to recently released data from an annual report on household food security released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). According to the report, in 2024 14.1 million children lived in households experiencing food insecurity. That is an increased over 2023, when 13.8 million children lived in households experiencing food insecurity. Both numbers are a sharp increase over 2019, when 10.7 million children lived in households experiencing food insecurity.

Food-insecure households are defined by the USDA as those that have experienced difficulty at some point during the year to provide “enough food for all their members because of a lack of resources.”

The annual USDA report will be the last unless Congress intervenes, since the agency announced in September that it will no longer produce future studies. In that announcement, the USDA said “these redundant, costly, politicized, and extraneous studies do nothing more than fear monger.”

Click here for more from K-12 Dive.

HHS Terminates Millions in Grants to AAP (January 2, 2026)

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has terminated several multimillion-dollar grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) following the association’s criticisms of the policies of the health secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr.

The funding cuts, which affect projects focused on issues including fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and early identification of autism, were first reported by the Washington Post and made without prior notice to the AAP.

An HHS spokesperson, Andrew Nixon, told the Washington Post that the grants were terminated because they no longer aligned with departmental priorities. The Guardian has contacted HHS for comment.

HHS terminated the funding after noting that the AAP’s materials used what the department characterized as “identity-based language”, including references to racial disparities and the term “pregnant people”, according to administration officials cited by the Washington Post.

Click here for more from the Washington Post.

New Vaccine Education Workgroup Holds First Meeting to Provide Evidence-Based Information to Pennsylvanians (December 26, 2025)

On December 18, 2025 the Commonwealth’s new Vaccine Education Advisory Workgroup held its inaugural meeting to safeguard vaccine access for Pennsylvanians and protecting families’ freedom to make their own health care decisions. The workgroup, created by the governor’s Executive Order 2025-02 and signed in October, will provide input and evidence-based recommendations on protecting vaccine access and promoting uptake to protect Pennsylvanians from vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, whooping cough, and hepatitis B.

The workgroup will meet regularly to discuss:
-barriers to accessing childhood and adult immunizations,
-vaccine education and communication to provide consistent evidence-based information tailored to different demographics,
-harmful, inaccurate, and misguided information about vaccines, and
-ways to engage Pennsylvanians to build trust and encourage immunizations in areas with historically low vaccination rates.  

Establishing this workgroup is the latest Shapiro Administration effort to counter efforts from the federal government to sow distrust and confusion about vaccines. For decades, evidence has shown that safe and effective vaccines prevent diseases that previously caused Pennsylvanians to get sick.

Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Department of Health (PDH) released new vaccine guidance to provide health care providers and residents with trusted information they need to stay healthy.

The Executive Order also directs PDH to establish a state-based safety net to protect children’s access to vaccines, requires all state agencies to align policies with trusted medical experts, and launches a central online vaccine portal.

You can find more information about vaccines at the PA Department of Health’s website here.

PHRC Requests for Public Input on Emotional Support Animals (December 17, 2025)

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission (PHRC) is in the process of developing guidance for the public regarding how it will evaluate cases involving the use of emotional support animals (ESA) in education, employment, housing, and public accommodations.  

 Under the PHRC’s current provisions, emotional support animals are recognized primarily in the context of housing accommodations, ensuring that individuals with disabilities receive equal housing opportunities. However, these provisions do not extend to other public spaces or accommodations. 

The PHRC is seeking public input regarding access to public accommodations with emotional support animals specifically. Emotional support animals are not service animals like seeing eye dogs and they are not trained to do a particular task. Rather, individuals with certain disabilities have found the presence of these animals provide a significant emotional benefit.  

Public accommodations are places open to the public, like stores, restaurants, amusement parks, schools, colleges, and universities.  

The PHRC is looking to hear from individuals who use ESAs, advocacy groups, businesses, and other effected individuals and entities. The PHRC would like to hear about your experiences, concerns, and suggestions. Public comment will be accepted via an online survey  from December 1 through December 31, 2025. The PHRC will accept comment from schools, postsecondary and higher education institutions, and libraries via email at (aburman@pa.gov) ) until January 29, 2026.  

After the one-month public input period concludes, the PHRC will develop draft guidance informed by the feedback received. Once the draft is finalized, it will be released for a public comment period before being reviewed and accepted by the Commission.