In a single stroke, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. achieved a long-standing goal of his anti-vaccine supporters — and put millions of American children needlessly at risk.

On Jan. 5, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it is narrowing the childhood vaccine schedule — considered the baseline of care for all children — to 11 shots from 17. Some of the vaccines that Kennedy has criticized in the past remain, measles among them. Yet others such as the flu shot will be recommended only for some high-risk groups or after consulting with a doctor.

The CDC’s announcement followed a White House memo last month that called for the agency to review vaccine practices in other rich nations. Although the administration has celebrated the change as “common sense” reform that aligns with global standards, the approach is deeply misguided.

For starters, coordinating the U.S. vaccination schedule with international guidelines is overly simplistic. Not only are European countries smaller and more homogenous — putting them at lower risk for certain diseases — but their universal health-care systems also make preventative treatment more accessible. For decades, the U.S. set a global standard that other countries adjusted to their needs; this policy works in reverse.

The CDC’s decision likewise lacked transparency, bypassed standard processes and by many accounts excluded vaccine experts. It’s also possibly illegal. Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics sued the Department of Health and Human Services for a similar circumvention of protocols when changing Covid-19 recommendations. Litigation is ongoing.

Making matters worse, the agency has effectively overwhelmed public debate about the current vaccination schedule, which Kennedy says is needed to restore trust. (For the record, the vaccines in question have been meticulously studied and determined to be safe.) If anything, the new guidance risks further confusing the public: Federal health programs will continue to provide all vaccines on request, despite the CDC’s recommendations. Much responsibility will fall to state officials and individual providers, setting the stage for growing gaps in care.

Finally, the policy misconstrues preventative care. Most kids can handle routine infections, the thinking goes. Yet often underlying problems are uncovered only when a common illness such as the flu lands a child in the hospital. For hepatitis B, also now excluded, many adults show no symptoms and can easily infect babies. Again, the cost of waiting to vaccinate — in this case, increased risk of liver disease and cancer — far outweighs the exceedingly low risk of giving a child a shot.

The CDC’s shift couldn’t come at a worse time. Nine children have died of the flu this season, the most serious outbreak since the COVID-19 pandemic. Declining vaccination rates have led to a surge of once-dormant diseases, including whooping cough and measles. The U.S. is perilously close to losing its elimination status for the latter.

The revision nevertheless represents a perverse victory for Kennedy, who remains preoccupied with reshaping the nation’s approach to childhood vaccination despite the reassurances he offered to Congress. Since assuming his post, Kennedy has purged experts, restricted vaccine access, and amplified misinformation about the link between vaccines and autism. Yet no reform to date has posed as direct a threat to as many children as this one.

Although the White House appears to be giving Kennedy free rein, Congress owes him no such privilege. Lawmakers should call for hearings and oversight of the vaccine-policy changes he once promised not to make, as well as demand that he offer sworn testimony (a responsibility Republican leadership has at times absolved him of). They should also be willing to withhold funding for the administration’s other priorities if this decision isn’t reversed.

At a minimum, Congress might ask the secretary a simple question: Why are the nation’s children being asked to bear all the risks of this reckless experiment?

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