The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention took the unprecedented step Monday of dropping the number of vaccines it recommends for every child, adopting a policy that gives Rhode Island parents choice but very little guidance.

Officials said the overhaul to the federal vaccine schedule won’t result in any families losing access or insurance coverage for vaccines, but medical experts slammed the move, saying it could lead to reduced uptake of important vaccinations and increase disease.

See also: Flu, Respiratory Illnesses Increasing In Rhode Island

Rhode Island has the following requirements:

Students entering preschool, licensed Department of Human Services center-based and in-home child-care facilities must have:

• Four doses of DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) vaccine
• One dose of Flu vaccine each year
• Two doses of Hepatitis A vaccine
• Three doses of Hepatitis B vaccine
• Three doses of Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b) vaccine
• One dose of MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine
• Four doses of Pneumococcal Conjugate vaccine (not routinely given to healthy children 5 years of age and older)
• Three doses of Polio vaccine
• Two doses of Rotavirus vaccine
• One dose of Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine

See also: RI’s Best Hospitals For 2025: See Full List

Students entering kindergarten must have:

• Five doses of DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) vaccine
• three doses of Hepatitis B vaccine
• Two doses of MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine
• Four doses of Polio vaccine
• Two doses of Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine

Students entering seventh grade must have met the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten immunization requirements and have:

• One dose of HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine
• One dose of Meningococcal Conjugate (MCV4) vaccine
• One dose of Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccine

Students entering eighth grade must have met the grade seven immunization requirements and have:

• Two doses of HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine

Students entering ninth grade must have met the grade eight immunization requirements plus:

• Three doses of HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine
• Note: Per current ACIP recommendations, only two doses of HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine are required if series is started at age 14 or younger

Students entering 12th grade must have met the grade nine immunization requirements plus:

• One dose of Meningococcal Conjugate (MCV4) vaccine as a booster dose

A student, upon entering any college or university, is required to get or has gotten the following:

• One dose of Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis) vaccine
• Two doses of MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine
• Completion of Hepatitis B vaccine series
• Two doses of Varicella (chickenpox) vaccine
• One dose of Meningococcal Conjugate (MCV4) vaccine in the last five years for newly enrolled full-time undergraduate and graduate students (younger than 22 years of age) in a degree program at a college or university who will live in a dormitory or comparable congregate living arrangement approved by the institution

See also: Get A Flu Shot, Says Rhode Island Health Czar

The vaccine schedule is similar to Denmark’s and recommends children get vaccines for 11 diseases, compared with the 18 the CDC previously recommended. The changes are effective immediately.

The change, which officials acknowledged was made without input from an advisory committee that typically consults on the vaccine schedule, came after President Donald Trump in December asked the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to review how peer nations approach vaccine recommendations and consider revising its guidance to align with theirs.

HHS said its comparison to 20 peer nations found that the U.S. was an “outlier” in both the number of vaccinations and the number of doses it recommended to all children. Officials with the agency framed the change as a way to increase public trust by recommending only the most important vaccinations for children to receive.

See also: Get Your Baby The Hepatitis B Shot: Rhode Island Department Of Health

“This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement Monday.

Medical experts disagreed, saying the change without public discussion or a transparent review of the data would put children at risk.

“Abandoning recommendations for vaccines that prevent influenza, hepatitis and rotavirus, and changing the recommendation for HPV without a public process to weigh the risks and benefits, will lead to more hospitalizations and preventable deaths among American children,” said Michael Osterholm of the Vaccine Integrity Project, based at the University of Minnesota.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

See also: RI Flu Cases Rising As New Variant Spreads

• A new report proposes a major overhaul of Rhode Island’s education funding to simplify the system.
• The plan would shift many education costs, like teacher pensions and transportation, from cities and towns to the state.
• This proposal includes a net increase of about $300 million in overall education spending.

A proposed overhaul of Rhode Island education funding unveiled by a panel of experts and the Rhode Island Foundation on Monday, Jan. 5 would simplify the way public education is paid for and shift spending from municipalities to the state.

A 33-page report from the Blue Ribbon Commission describes the state’s current funding formula as “complex,” “opaque,” and “unpredictable,” the product of years of emergency tweaks and political compromises.

“We are constantly confronted with the limitations of the current funding formula. We hear about it all the time, both as a funder and as a partner in the public education sector,” David Cicilline, Rhode Island Foundation president and former congressman, told reporters at a briefing on the plan, whose release was delayed as a result of a shooting at Brown University.

The commission recommends that the state share the cost of some things now borne entirely by local governments, such as transportation, building maintenance and vocational schooling. And it wants the state to take on some costs entirely − including retired teacher pensions, high-cost special education and out-of-district transportation − that are now shared with municipalities.

The current system places “an outsized fiscal burden on districts,” the report’s executive summary says.

But the price tag for taking that burden from cities and towns is large, and in a time of economic uncertainty might give Rhode Island State House leaders sticker shock.

At the same time that the commission shifts costs to the state, it is also proposing a roughly $300 million net increase in education spending to better reflect what its experts believe is necessary to guarantee.

The commission’s preferred scenario, in which the state covers 58% of school costs, would increase the state education budget by $590 million. Under this plan cities and towns would save $278 million.

Cicilline notes that state leaders could choose to phase the new spending in over two or three years to soften the budget impact.

Recent years have seen significant annual increases in education spending under the existing funding formula. The current state budget saw a $59 million increase in education spending from the previous year.

Cicilline also noted that the state’s unfunded pension obligation is projected to fall dramatically in 2036, at which point the cost of covering those payments for cities would fall.

The state currently pays 40% of teacher pension costs. Picking up the full cost of retiree pensions would push the state cost from a little over $100 million to more than $270 million, according to projections from the commission.

Who participated in the Blue Ribbon Commission?

The commission, hosted by the Rhode Island Foundation and Brown University’s Annenberg Institute, included representatives of nonprofits, municipal government, teachers unions, research academics and public schools, both traditional and charter.

The panel did not include any elected officials or state policymakers, such as members of the Rhode Island Department of Education or members of the General Assembly. However, Gov. Dan McKee, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Valarie Lawson were briefed on the recommendations.

How did state officials react to the recommendations?

All reserved judgment on the plan, although many of the ideas in it align with priorities that Lawson, president of the National Education Association Rhode Island, expressed in an interview at the start of the month.

Shekarchi thanked the foundation and said the House will be “carefully reviewing” the recommendations. “A strong educational system is essential in making sure our students are well prepared for the rapidly-changing 21st century economy and is a critical component of our state’s future prosperity,” he said in an email.

The report “reflects a strong commitment to strengthening public education and expanding opportunity for every Rhode Island student – goals my administration has been working towards diligently,” McKee said in an email.

Senate spokesman Greg Pare said the Rhode Island Foundation is slated to give the chamber a presentation on the report Jan. 15.

“The Blue Ribbon Commission’s work raises important issues that we will be exploring, including state support relative to areas such as high-cost special needs and transportation,” Pare wrote.

Municipal winners and losers under new funding plan

Although most cities and towns come out big winners with the Blue Ribbon plan, some do better than others, and a few communities are projected to see a net loss.