New bill would allow Alaska to use vaccine advice of medical experts outside of federal government
- Alaska Beacon
- Jan 14
- 4 min read
House measure would allow the state to follow childhood vaccination recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which opposes the administration’s vaccine cutbacks
By Yereth Rosen
Alaska Beacon
As the Trump administration chips away at longstanding childhood vaccine standards, a newly introduced bill in the Alaska Legislature would give state health officials the option of following vaccine advice of medical experts outside of the federal government.
The measure, House Bill 238, would authorize the state Department of Health to follow vaccine recommendations made by the American Academy of Pediatrics, not just the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee Immunization Practices.
The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes recent Trump administration changes to childhood vaccine recommendations and standards.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Andrew Gray, D-Anchorage, said the bill would ensure that the state’s vaccination program continues to be guided by the best available science.
“What the bill would do is give the state some flexibility to continue to follow vaccine schedules that are based in science,” said Gray, who is a physician assistant by profession.
It is appropriate to modify vaccine schedules and policies based on new knowledge, Gray said. But the recent changes to the childhood vaccination recommendation and schedules “are politically driven, not driven because of new scientific information,” he said.
In December, the Trump administration’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices ditched the longstanding U.S. recommendation for universal Hepatitis B vaccination of newborns. Committee members were appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine critic who fired the previous members en masse in June.
The president of the American Academy of Pediatrics called the change to Hepatitis B vaccine recommendations “irresponsible and purposely misleading guidance” that will lead to more infections of infants and children.
On Jan. 5, the U.S. Department of Health and Social Services released new guidelines that significantly cut the recommended doses and types of vaccines for children. Vaccinations for Hepatitis A and B, respiratory syncytial virus and meningococcal disease will be among those recommended only for children in high-risk groups, according to the new policy.
The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes that change as well.
The department’s announcement “to arbitrarily stop recommending numerous routine childhood immunizations is dangerous and unnecessary,” the academy’s president said in a statement.
Other medical organizations gave similar assessments.
Dr. Ronald G. Nahass, the president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, called the Department of Health and Human Services’ changes to the vaccine schedule “drastic” and criticized the agency’s lack of transparency or clear scientific justification. In a statement, he said it is “the latest reckless step in Secretary Kennedy’s assault on the national vaccine infrastructure that has saved millions of lives. His actions put families and communities at risk and will make America sicker.”
Trump administration officials said the reduced childhood vaccination schedule puts the United States on par with many other industrialized nations. In particular, they cited Denmark’s vaccine practices as a model.
“After an exhaustive review of the evidence, we are aligning the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with international consensus while strengthening transparency and informed consent. This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health,” Kennedy said in a Jan. 5 statement.
Kennedy is a critic of vaccines. He has canceled funding for vaccine research. In Anchorage last summer, he claimed the COVID-19 vaccines actually prolonged the pandemic.
Gray said he and other health providers have concerns that more severe changes to vaccine policies may be coming under Kennedy’s leadership. For example, antivaccine activists who support the secretary have used rhetoric attacking basic vaccines that prevent polio, measles, mumps and rubella, he said.
“Because there’s been talk about those, I think we’re kind of on pins and needles that changes could be made to the most essential vaccines for public health,” Gray said.
Alaska’s immunization program provides universal access to vaccines that are purchased by the state in bulk. The money-saving bulk purchases were established by a bill that state lawmakers passed unanimously in 2014.
Alaska is already deviating from last month’s change to Hepatitis B vaccination recommendations.
State health officials announced on Dec. 29 that the state still recommends universal Hepatitis B vaccinations for newborns.
Alaska has a higher-risk status for the virus that warrants an exception from the new general recommendations, state health officials said. There is a history of high levels of childhood Hepatitis B in Alaska that the state eventually controlled through decades of screening and vaccination. Prior to vaccination, Western Alaska had the world’s highest rate of childhood liver cancer related to Hepatitis B infections.
Despite its successes in curbing childhood exposure to the disease, Alaska continues to have high rates of Hepatitis B among adults. Alaska’s rate of chronic Hepatitis B is nearly three times the national rate, according to health officials.
Other regions of the Arctic have also had extremely high rates of Hepatitis B, with experiences similar to those in Alaska. In Greenland, for example, vaccination of babies within 24 hours of birth has been routine since 2010, following Alaska’s practice.
Gray’s bill is one of several filed in advance of the 2026 legislative session, which starts on Jan. 20.
• Yereth Rosen came to Alaska in 1987 to work for the Anchorage Times. She has been reporting on Alaska news ever since, covering stories ranging from oil spills to sled-dog races. She has reported for Reuters, for the Alaska Dispatch News, for Arctic Today and for other organizations. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
