Towards a Risk-Stratified Childhood Vaccine Schedule

By Peter A. McCullough, MD, MPH

Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA makes the point in this interview that pediatricians are “pathologic” in forcing mass childhood vaccination of every shot on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) panel which now includes the EUA mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. One hundred and fifty years of “vaccine ideology” is butting heads with perceptive parents who realize the infectious disease threats of today are much different than yesteryear. Many parents ask me “do my kids need all the shots?” With growing concerns that intensive salvos of combined vaccines very early in life are causing high fever, febrile seizures with death, and an array of problems later in in life including autism spectrum disorder, it may be time to consider a risk-stratified approach.

On the show I had limited time but gave some examples where not all kids will need every shot. Risk stratification should be based on susceptibility and the potential consequences of disease. For example, boys who can never become pregnant, they have zero risk of congenital rubella syndrome and thus the rubella vaccine is not required. Only babies born to mothers with active IV drug abuse or confirmed infectious hepatitis B would need the hepatitis B vaccine on the first day of birth. Everyone else could wait until later in life based on risk, i.e. healthcare workers with blood and body fluid exposure should consider this vaccine. There are many similar considerations that should be given to the ACIP childhood schedule which is now >100 shots before age 18 years.