“This is a meaningful step toward restoring evidence-based, individualized pediatric care and ensuring U.S. policy reflects both the best global science and the real-world needs of American families.” – Dr. Joseph Varon
The Independent Medical Alliance (IMA), a national coalition of physicians, healthcare providers, and medical researchers, today praised the latest Presidential Memorandum directing federal health agencies to compare U.S. core childhood vaccine recommendations with best practices from peer, developed countries.
The action, announced by the White House on Friday, initiates a formal review by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to determine whether other nations’ evidence-based schedules may offer superior models for vaccine timing, frequency, or universal recommendations.
“Frontline doctors strongly welcome this effort,” said Dr. Joseph Varon, IMA President and Chief Medical Officer. “America is the most over-medicated nation on Earth. It’s time that U.S. health agencies gathered all available data globally and compared methodologies to determine the safest and most effective vaccine schedule for America’s infants.”
In its memorandum, the White House pointed to a comparison with other advanced nations that shows the U.S. as the high-side outlier with recommendations for vaccinating against 18 different diseases, including COVID. By comparison, Denmark recommends vaccines for 10 diseases with serious morbidity or mortality risk, Japan recommends 14, and Germany 15.
The White House also noted distinctions in timing and universal applicability, including the longstanding U.S. recommendation for a Hepatitis B vaccine at birth, which most developed countries limit to infants born to mothers who test positive for the virus.
“These are factual differences with important implications,” added Dr. Varon. “Parents deserve to know how and why schedules vary, and whether adjustments could improve safety and health outcomes while respecting individualized care.”
The administration’s direction aligns closely with the IMA’s Parents’ Healthcare Bill of Rights, released in August, which called for, among other reforms:
- Stronger transparency in federal health guidance
- Clear communication of scientific evidence
- Restoration of the doctor-patient relationship
- Avoidance of unnecessary or non-individualized medical interventions
“A transparent, evidence-based comparison with peer nations is not anti-vaccine. It is pro-science, pro-trust, and pro-child,” concluded Dr. Varon. “We applaud the White House for recognizing that leadership begins with listening to both the data and the doctors.”
