July 6, 2023 – The CDC cuts funding for presidency childhood vaccination programs, in response to KFF Health Newswhich refers to an email that he received from the agency.
The cut affects a federal immunization grant last 12 months that supports childhood vaccinations. Authorities report that the cut amounts to 10% or more of the previous 12 months's grant.
It is a “significant change to your budget,” said the June 27 email, signed by two CDC officials, KFF reported.
The email was sent to “immunization managers,” public health officials who manage state, territorial and native programs to advertise vaccinations against measles, chickenpox and other infectious diseases.
“There will be no easy solution to this,” the CDC said in the e-mail. “We know this change will require some difficult decisions.”
CDC spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund told KFF, “The budgetary impact is still being determined.”
The budget cuts would impact programs that discover communities vulnerable to disease outbreaks, said Claire Hannan, executive director of the Association of Immunization Managers.
The CDC reported that fewer children were vaccinated throughout the COVID-19 pandemic than in previous years. For example, within the 2021-2022 school 12 months, about 93% of the country's kindergarten children received each of the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella), DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis), polio, and varicella vaccines. This is a decrease from the 94% vaccination rate within the 2020-2021 school 12 months and from the 95% vaccination rate within the 2019-2020 school 12 months.
“Now is not the time to reduce government support for routine childhood vaccinations,” said Mark Del Monte, CEO of the American Academy of Pediatrics, within the KFF article. “We must ensure that every child stays up to date on their vaccinations as they approach school entry, and that requires sustained investment in the vaccine delivery system.”