The Trump administration has said it desires the U.S. childhood vaccination schedule to look extra like peer nations resembling Denmark. Critics say the U.S. has totally different well being threats.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The Trump administration has mentioned it desires to align its childhood vaccination schedule with finest practices in peer nations – locations like Denmark. That would imply fewer vaccines in opposition to fewer illnesses. However critics say you possibly can’t merely undertake one other nation’s vaccine schedule within the U.S., which has a really totally different inhabitants and totally different well being dangers. Right here to inform us extra is NPR’s Maria Godoy. Hello there.
MARIA GODOY, BYLINE: Hello.
SUMMERS: Maria, for starters, why Denmark? What’s the U.S. trying to emulate on the subject of childhood vaccines?
GODOY: Nicely, Well being Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has lengthy mentioned he thinks American youngsters get too many vaccines. And earlier this month, President Trump issued a memorandum directing Kennedy and the performing CDC director to have a look at finest practices from peer nations, and it particularly talked about Denmark, which vaccinates all youngsters in opposition to simply 10 illnesses. In the meantime, the U.S. recommends routine vaccination in opposition to 16 illnesses. It was truly 17 till final week when the CDC dropped the advice for vaccinating all newborns in opposition to hepatitis B. And earlier this month, at a gathering of the CDC’s vaccine advisory panel, an FDA official gave a giant presentation actually highlighting Denmark’s childhood vaccination schedule.
SUMMERS: I imply, Denmark is a rich nation, and it does have an important well being care system, so one might argue why not emulate their vaccine schedule?
GODOY: You realize, I requested this of Dr. Sean O’Leary with the American Academy of Pediatrics, and here is what he mentioned.
SEAN O’LEARY: It is like evaluating a cruise ship to a kayak. I imply, for instance, Denmark is the scale of roughly Wisconsin.
GODOY: He notes Denmark’s inhabitants is simply about 6 million folks, and it isn’t very various in revenue or race, in contrast to the U.S. It is obtained a nationwide well being registry that mainly tracks everybody from start to dying and free common well being care that makes it simpler to get care should you’re sick. Households get a couple of yr of paid parental go away to allow them to keep dwelling with their infants, so that they doubtlessly aren’t uncovered to as many illnesses. And if an toddler will get hospitalized, for instance, with RSV, which Denmark doesn’t vaccinate in opposition to, their well being system absorbs that price, so it isn’t a barrier to getting care.
SUMMERS: And I am going to simply word that sounds fairly totally different from the scenario right here within the U.S.
GODOY: Precisely. And right here, lots of people battle with well being care entry, and we even have larger charges of childhood weight problems and bronchial asthma. And we put extra of an emphasis on illness prevention somewhat than administration. You realize, I additionally spoke with Dr. William Moss of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Faculty of Public Well being, and he says here is the underside line.
WILLIAM MOSS: The explanation why international locations, significantly in Europe, have totally different vaccination schedules is just not as a result of they contemplate the vaccines to not be secure or that the vaccines do not work. And I believe it is essential that individuals perceive that.
GODOY: He says it truly is about all these different variations in context.
SUMMERS: Maria, we spoke about Denmark, however how does the U.S. examine to different peer nations on the subject of childhood vaccines?
GODOY: You realize, I requested the identical query to Josh Michaud, a world well being knowledgeable with KFF. And he says that once you have a look at the 30 international locations which are a part of the European Centre for Illness Prevention and Management, the U.S. may be very a lot according to them.
JOSH MICHAUD: It’s Denmark that appears to be the outlier right here by way of recommending only a few vaccines. So within the case of Germany and France and Italy, we is perhaps speaking about 15 or extra vaccines.
SUMMERS: OK, so some variation there. Is that this one thing we count on the Trump administration to maneuver on within the close to future?
GODOY: Yeah, that is the large query. The Well being and Human Companies Division despatched out notices final Thursday saying they have been going to make an announcement on kids’s well being, however they canceled it a number of hours later. Media reviews counsel the administration had deliberate to announce an overhaul of the childhood vaccination schedule, however HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon declined to debate the matter.
SUMMERS: NPR’s Maria Godoy, thanks.
GODOY: My pleasure.
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