Federal health officials moved this week to reduce the number of vaccines the U.S. routinely recommends for children, cutting the schedule from 17 to 11. The change, announced by HHS and implemented by the CDC, follows a White House-ordered review and aims to align U.S. guidance with other wealthy nations. The decision was issued without the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ usual full public vetting, prompting immediate pushback from pediatric clinicians and vaccine makers who warn the shift could undermine coverage and public trust. Officials cited an assessment led by agency appointees that found the U.S. to be an outlier in dose counts and argued targeted recommendations for certain shots would preserve resources while focusing routine guidance on internationally agreed vaccines such as polio and measles. Physician groups and some public-health experts countered that international comparisons can be misleading and that moving vaccines to “shared clinical decision-making” or high-risk recommendations may reduce uptake and increase preventable illness. Coverage and state immunization laws may still change as states react to the federal guidance.