Health Care

Federal vaccine recommendations

6 public statements from 2026 candidates

§1The range of views

Why this matters: These recommendations guide which vaccines doctors offer, what insurance covers and what many schools require.

Drafted by AI, then checked for neutral wording in a separate AI review. It describes the question and the main positions, not any candidate's view. Facts link to their sources.

How the federal government decides which vaccines to recommend, including the childhood schedule set by the CDC and its vaccine advisory committee, whose current members all began their terms in 2025.1

  1. Recommend fewer vaccines, or make more of them a choice for families and doctors
  2. Keep federal recommendations as they stand now
  3. Restore the recommendations and advisory committee members in place before 2025

These options describe policies, not people. The order is not a ranking.

§2What candidates have said

Why this matters: Statements candidates made publicly, summarized in plain words with a link to where they said it. Candidates who haven't spoken publicly on this issue aren't listed.

Drafted by AI from the public sources cited. Each sentence links to its source.

Statements that don't match one option (6)

  • Richard Pan CA-6
    His campaign website says he would work to have science and facts guide federal policy on vaccination and public health, roll back the health policies of President Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and protect children from preventable diseases such as measles and polio.2,3
  • Scott Wiener CA-11
    His campaign website says he would restore, protect and expand vaccine access, research and requirements.4
  • Maura Healey MA Governor
    Her campaign website says that when federal officials moved to limit vaccine access, she had the state's public health commissioner issue a vaccine prescription for everyone in the state and made sure insurers would cover the vaccines.5
  • Adrian Boafo MD-5
    His campaign website says he would restore and strengthen federal public health agencies and vaccine programs so that science, not politics, guides decisions.6
  • Stefany Shaheen NH-1
    Her campaign website criticizes what it describes as efforts by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to weaken vaccine requirements for polio, measles and other serious diseases.7
  • Annie Andrews SC Senate
    Her campaign website says she would work to strengthen vaccine access and public health preparedness.8