U.S. Childhood Vaccine Schedule Changes: The Case for Informed Consent in Canada
Why Informed Consent and Individualized Decision-Making Matter More Than Ever
We encourage parents to ask questions, do their own research and make informed choices — rather than blindly trusting doctors who are incentivized by pharmaceutical companies.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced major changes to the childhood vaccine schedule. The overhaul reduces the number of vaccines recommended as routine for all children from 17 down to 11, while keeping all vaccines available and fully covered. Several vaccines have been moved to shared clinical decision-making, recognizing that families must have the right to choose based on their child’s individual risk and the limits of current safety data.
According to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,
“After an exhaustive review of the evidence, we are aligning the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with international consensus while strengthening transparency and informed consent. This decision protects children, respects families and rebuilds trust in public health.”
Mary Holland, CEO of Children’s Health Defense, called the move
“the most significant change in U.S. vaccination policy in recent history.”
For Canadian parents, these changes reinforce what many already understand: vaccine decisions should be informed, not coerced. Blind trust in a system where physicians are rewarded for meeting vaccination targets undermines genuine informed consent.
Historically, Canada has often followed the U.S. lead on childhood vaccine schedules. Health Minister Marjorie Michel should consider doing the same, adopting a framework that prioritizes parental choice, transparency and safety. Canadians must voice their concerns and opinions to her.
Empowering Families to Make Informed Choices
At CHD Canada, we support parents who question the system and seek information before making vaccine decisions. Researching options, asking questions and carefully weighing risks and benefits are responsible acts of parental protection.
Many physicians work within systems shaped by financial incentives, performance metrics and institutional pressure to prioritize compliance. In this environment, open discussion about uncertainty, individual risk or gaps in long-term safety data is often limited. Parents who take responsibility for educating themselves are acting in their children’s best interests.
What the U.S. Changes Mean
The updated U.S. schedule now separates vaccines into three categories:
-
Recommended for all children — vaccines with broad international consensus
-
High-risk groups — vaccines targeted to specific populations
-
Shared clinical decision-making — vaccines families and clinicians should evaluate individually
Shared clinical decision-making does not remove access to vaccines; it acknowledges medical uncertainty and places individualized risk assessment back where it belongs — with families and their healthcare providers.
Vaccines such as hepatitis A, influenza, COVID-19, rotavirus, and certain meningococcal vaccines are now placed in the shared decision-making category, reflecting growing recognition that vaccine risk-benefit profiles vary and that existing safety data have limits.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also confirmed that a single dose of HPV vaccine is sufficient, aligning U.S. guidance with several peer nations and acknowledging that earlier recommendations were overly prescriptive. U.S. federal health officials have committed to placebo-controlled trials and long-term observational studies — research Canada has yet to require.
Canadian Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
Vaccine coverage in Canada has declined in recent years, while parental hesitancy has increased.
According to data from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), among 2-year-old children between 2019 and 2023:
DTaP (≥4 doses) coverage fell from 79.9% to 72.1%
MMR (≥1 dose) coverage declined from 89.5% to 82.5%
National surveys also show growing hesitancy:
Approximately 17% of Canadian parents are classified as vaccine-hesitant
Regional estimates range from 14% to 24% across provinces and territories
Hesitancy around COVID-19 vaccination for children reached approximately 44% in 2023
These trends suggest that more Canadian families are actively questioning vaccine recommendations and making individualized decisions, rather than automatically following a one-size-fits-all model.
Canada’s Rigid System
Despite these signals, Canadian authorities continue to promote the childhood vaccine schedule as a rigid, one-size-fits-all program, offering little guidance on individualized risk or long-term safety.
Adverse events are largely dismissed or misclassified, and Health Canada does not require independent, placebo-controlled research to assess cumulative risks. Parents who question or delay vaccines are often pressured to comply, rather than supported in making informed decisions for their children.
Why This Matters
What is often labeled ‘vaccine hesitancy’ — careful, informed questioning — is a positive and protective force. Parents who research medical recommendations are rejecting blind compliance in favour of responsibility and discernment.
True public health depends on transparency, honest rigorous science and respect for families’ right to make informed decisions — free from coercion or industry influence.
Canadian parents deserve the same transparency, individualized care and respect for informed consent now being acknowledged in the United States.
SOURCES:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
CDC Acts on Presidential Memorandum to Update Childhood Immunization Schedule
CHD’s The Defender
Breaking: HHS Makes Sweeping Changes to Childhood Vaccine Schedule
Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC)
Vaccine Coverage in Canada
Vaccination Coverage Goals and Vaccine Preventable Disease Reduction Targets by 2025
Childhood Seasonal Immunization Coverage Survey (CSICS): 2024 results
Adult National Immunization Coverage Survey (aNICS)
Realizing the Future of Vaccination for Public Health: The Chief Public Health Officer’s Report
Vaccine Hesitancy in Canadian Parents
***********************************************************************************************