Tracking Vaccine Policy Shifts during the Trump Administration

Darcy Kahn

Current understanding

As of 18/12/2025 9:00 am

The Trump administration has taken several formal actions affecting federal vaccine policy and national guidelines.

Earlier this year, Trump barred federal funds for schools that required COVID-19 vaccination for in-person attendance.

The military is re-examining the cases of troops who were kicked out for refusing the COVID-19 vaccine. About 8,000 service members were forced out, and their discharge status—which affects access to veterans’ benefits like health care—is now under review.

The Department of Health and Human Services fired all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, a panel of physicians and public health officials that makes recommendations on vaccine safety and efficacy. The new committee voted to revise guidance for some childhood vaccines, including shots for chickenpox and hepatitis B.

The Food and Drug Administration rescinded approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 6 months to 4 years. The administration is also investigating reports of deaths following COVID-19 vaccination.

What’s changed

The CDC formally approved a change to longstanding hepatitis B vaccination guidance on Dec. 16. Earlier in Dec., the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an independent panel of physicians and public health experts, voted 8-3 to stop recommending that all newborns be vaccinated at birth against hepatitis B. Instead, the panel recommended that pregnant women undergo hepatitis B screening, and that only infants born to mothers who test positive continue to be vaccinated at birth. For moms who are not infected with hepatitis B, the advisory board recommended that they consult their physician about the vaccine and weigh its benefits and risks. (Confirmed)

The Food and Drug Administration expanded its investigation of deaths linked to COVID-19 vaccines to include adults. (Reported) In late November, an internal FDA memo, released by the Washington Post, alleged that at least 10 children died after receiving the vaccine. (Corroborated)

What we don’t know yet

The Food and Drug Administration is considering adding black-box labels to COVID-19 vaccines. Media outlets are reporting conflicting information, some saying the FDA will add them and other saying the FDA will not add them. Black box labels are the highest safety alert the FDA can give. On Dec. 15, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary denied reports suggesting plans for the agency to add the warnings.

In an internal memo circulated in late November, Vinay Prasad, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, alleged that 10 children died after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine and vowed to change the vaccine approval process. Additional details about the investigation and any potential changes to the approval process are not yet known.

How this fits into the broader story

During his first term, U.S. President Donald Trump championed Operation Warp Speed, a federal initiative launched in 2020 to accelerate COVID-19 vaccine development and distribution. The program helped bring multiple vaccines to market in record time during the pandemic.

In 2021, the Biden administration implemented a series of vaccine mandates, requiring federal employees, contractors, and healthcare workers who cared for Medicare and Medicaid patients receive the shot. The Department of Defense mandated vaccines for servicemembers, and the U.S. Department of Labor required employers with more than 100 people to mandate vaccination or weekly COVID-19 testing. Many schools also implemented vaccine requirements for children attending in-person classes. The mandates faced legal challenges. Some courts ruled that the President did not have the authority to mandate vaccines; other courts ruled the opposite way. In November, a district court in Louisiana blocked vaccine mandates for large employers and healthcare workers. In the first half of 2023, all other COVID-19 vaccine mandates were rescinded.

COVID-19 vaccine mandates sparked nationwide debate over public health authority, individual rights, and the role of government in health policy.

Since returning to office in 2025, Trump and his administration have moved to reassess how vaccines – including COVID-19 vaccines and routine childhood immunizations – are regulated and recommended.

Timeline of key events

Latest updates appear first.

  • Dec 16, 2025

    Jim O’Neill, Acting Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, formally approved a change to hepatitis B vaccine guidance for newborns. (Confirmed) The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel of physicians and public health officials, previously voted on the change earlier in December.

  • Dec 15, 2025

    The Food and Drug Administration is considering adding black box warnings—the agency’s strongest safety alert—to COVID-19 vaccines. (Disputed) Media outlets reported conflicting information: CNN said the FDA would opt for the labels; three days later Reuters reported the administration would not. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary told Bloomberg News the agency had “no plans to put that on the Covid vaccine.”

  • Dec 10, 2025

    The U.S. Department of War (formerly the Department of Defense) issued a memorandum directing the military to hold review boards for service members who were fired for not complying with the now-rescinded COVID-19 vaccine mandate. (Confirmed) Almost 8,000 service members were involuntarily separated for refusing the vaccine. Others left voluntarily to avoid the mandate. (Confirmed) Discharge status can impact access to veteran benefits, such as health care.

    The military has upgraded the discharge status of about 900 affected service members who did not seek reinstatement. (Confirmed) The military vaccine mandate was issued in August 2021 and lifted in August 2023. (Confirmed)

  • Dec 09, 2025

    The Food and Drug Administration expanded its investigation into deaths linked to COVID-19 vaccines to include adults. (Reported) In late November, an internal FDA memo, released by the Washington Post, alleged that at least 10 children died after receiving the vaccine. (Corroborated)

  • Dec 05, 2025

    U.S. President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order directing the Department of Health and Human Services to review vaccine recommendations from other developed countries and to amend the U.S. vaccine schedule to align with best practices.

  • Dec 05, 2025

    The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an independent panel of physicians and public health experts, voted 8-3 to change the current practice of administering the hepatitis B vaccine to all newborns. (Confirmed) The panel recommended that pregnant women undergo hepatitis B screening, and that infants born to mothers who test positive continue to be vaccinated at birth. For moms who are not infected with hepatitis B, the advisory board recommended that they consult their physician about the vaccine and weigh its benefits and risks.

  • Late Nov. 2025

    Vinay Prasad, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, circulated an internal memo alleging that 10 children died after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine. The memo calls for changes in the country’s vaccine approval process. (Corroborated) Marty Makary, a FDA commissioner, previously alleged that the Biden administration withheld data on the risk of myocarditis in children following receipt of COVID vaccines.

  • Nov 04, 2025

    The Food and Drug Administration revoked prior approval for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in children between 6 months and 4 years old, leaving Moderna’s Spikevax as the only vaccine approved for children of that age. (Confirmed)

  • Oct 06, 2025

    The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention no longer recommends that children receive the chickenpox vaccine at the same time as the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) shot. The change in guidance comes after the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an independent panel of physicians and health officials, reviewed data that reported healthy 12-23-month-old toddlers had an increased risk of febrile seizure 7-10 days after receiving the combined vaccine. (Confirmed)

  • July 23, 2025

    U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. adopted a recommendation to remove the mercury-based preservative thimerosal from all flu vaccines distributed in the U.S. (Confirmed)

  • June 09, 2025

    The Department of Health and Human Services fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices, a panel of physicians and public health officials that makes recommendations on the safety, efficacy, and clinical need of vaccines to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Confirmed) All 17 members were appointed during the Biden administration.

  • Feb 14, 2025

    U.S. President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order prohibiting federal funds for schools and education agencies that require COVID-19 vaccination for in-person attendance. (Confirmed)

Get Camp Lejeune & New River Updates

Essential base alerts, local events, and military news delivered to your inbox

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Sources

    1. Dec 16, 2025: CDC Press Release on Hepatitis B Vaccine Guidance
    2. Dec 10, 2025: Department of War Memorandum on COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
    3. Dec 05, 2025: Presidential Memorandum to Align U.S. Core Childhood Vaccine Recommendations with Best Practices from Peer, Developed Countries
    4. Dec 05, 2025: ACIP Vote on Universal Hepatitis B vaccination at birth
    5. Internal FDA Memo Alleging 10 Children Died from the COVID-19 Vaccine
    6. Nov 04, 2025: FDA Interim Guidance on COVID-19 Vaccination for Children
    7. Oct 06, 2025: CDC Guidance on Chickenpox Vaccine
    8. July 23, 2025: CDC Adopts Recommendation to Remove Thimerosal from Flu Shots
    9. June 09, 2025: HHS Press Release on Removing ACIP Members
    10. Feb 14, 2025: Executive Order Prohibiting Federal Funding for COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates in Schools
    11. May 09, 2023: Executive Order Rescinding COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for Federal Workers
    12. Jan 10, 2023: DoD Rescinds COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate
    13. June 17, 2022: Pfizer Press Release Announcing its COVID-19 Vaccine Received FDA Emergency Use Authorization for Children 6 Months through 4 Years of Age
    14. Nov 10, 2021: Department of Labor COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate for Large Employers
    15. Sept 14, 2021: Executive Order Mandating COVID-19 Vaccination for Federal Employees

 

 

 

More top stories

More headlines