by Heidi Reid | Jan 12, 2026 | Buzz, December/January 2025
What to know about the changes
Vaccination recommendations have been a long-standing debate, and the chatter has only escalated since former presidential candidate and lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Now, the conversation is spiking again after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly changed the childhood immunization schedule, effectively reducing the number of recommended shots for children from 17 shots to just 11.
“President Trump directed us to examine how other developed nations protect their children and to take action if they are doing better,” explained the Secretary. Certain “peer nations,” such as Denmark, recommend less vaccines, and the U.S. is following suit to “strengthen transparency and informed consent.”
The new schedule no longer recommends vaccines for rotavirus, hepatitis A and hepatitis B, meningitis, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), COVID, and the flu for every child. Ultimately, state governments will decide which vaccines are required for school entry, but the federal gov still yields significant influence over policy and access.
Enacted in part as a way to rebuild trust in public health following the pandemic, the changes have some medical professionals concerned. The new schedule didn’t undergo standard independent review (aka scrutiny from experts outside the org), and groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics criticized the changes as “dangerous and unnecessary,” noting Denmark’s population, health infrastructure and disease risks are different.
Critics of the schedule switch also bring to light RFK Jr.’s known history of anti-vax rhetoric—plus updates to information on the CDC’s website, including changes that suggest vaccines are possibly linked to autism.
Despite the overhaul, all vaccines on the schedule and those now excluded from the main recommended list will still remain under insurance coverage.
“No family will lose access,” Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and television personality Dr. Oz said. “This framework empowers parents and physicians to make individualized decisions based on risk while maintaining strong protection against serious disease.”
Regardless of where your trust in the department stands, the American Medical Association still suggests chatting with your physician to decide what is the best course of action for you and your child.
by Lauren Kruchten | Sep 29, 2020 | Buzz, September 2020, Web Exclusive
WEB EXCLUSIVE With the threat of both the flu and the coronavirus looming this season, it’s more important than ever to get a flu shot. While the two diseases are completely different and getting the flu shot hasn’t been proven to reduce your risk of getting coronavirus, health experts say that people coming down the flu—on top of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic—could overburden the health care system, something that was already a problem when case numbers started peaking back in early spring.
In addition to relieving the country’s hospitals, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says that “you really should get a flu shot” every year. Studies by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) showed that during the 2018-2019 flu season, 49% of the U.S. population got the flu vaccine and prevented an estimated 44 million cases of the flu and 3,500 deaths.
Besides not contracting the flu, the CDC lists the following benefits of getting the flu vaccine on their website:
- The flu vaccine can reduce the risk of flu-associated hospitalization for children, working age adults and older adults.
- Flu vaccinations are an important preventive tool for people with chronic health conditions.
- Flu vaccination helps protect women during and after pregnancy.
- The flu vaccine has been shown in several studies to reduce severity of illness in people who get vaccinated but still get sick.
- Getting vaccinated yourself may also protect people around you, including those who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness.
When Should You Get the Flu Vaccine?
Dr. Fauci recommends getting the flu shot towards the middle or end of October, saying that if you get it in September, the immunity might wear off come February or March. Flu season typically peaks between December and February, according to the CDC.
How Do Flu Vaccines Work?
Two weeks after getting the flu vaccine, antibodies begin to develop in the body, providing protection against infection with the viruses that are also used to make the vaccine itself. The CDC recommends getting the vaccine each year because a person’s immune protection from vaccination declines over time and because the flu virus changes every year, meaning the vaccine is updated as well. A common misconception is that the flu vaccine will cause flu illness, when in reality any symptoms you may feel after getting the flu shot are the body’s normal immune response to the inactivated virus in the vaccine.
Where Can You Get the Flu Shot Locally?
Most all common drugstores (CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, etc.) offer the flu shot free with most insurance. Target’s CVS pharmacies will also adminster the flu vaccine.
Harris Teeter recently announced a flu shot program with Kroger Health to offer flu shots at all of Harris Teeter’s more than 200 pharmacies.
When you get a flu shot at Raleigh’s new Publix, they’ll give you a free $10 gift card to the grocery store.
The following Wake County Human Services locations are offering the flu vaccine by appointment only for $30:
- Public Health Center in Raleigh: 919-250-3900
- Northern Regional Center in Wake Forest: 919-562-6300
- Eastern Regional Center in Zebulon: 919-404-3900
- Southern Regional Center in Fuquay Varina: 919-557-2501
- Millbrook Human Services Center in Raleigh: 919-431-4000
