Michigan moves away from vaccine guidance of RFK Jr.'s federal panel

Craig Mauger, The Detroit News on Dec 18, 2025

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LANSING, Mich. — Michigan's top doctor issued a recommendation Thursday, advising health care providers to follow vaccine schedules for children from the American Academy of Pediatrics or the American Academy of Family Physicians, shifting away from guidance coming from President Donald Trump's administration.

The announcement from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said the state had "previously looked to the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for vaccine recommendations."

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has long voiced criticism of vaccines, removed all 17 members of the committee in June and picked his own replacements. A "clean sweep" of the board was needed "to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science," Kennedy wrote in a Wall Street Journal guest column.

But Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Michigan's chief medical executive, said on Thursday that public health experts across the country were not in agreement with the recent federal vaccine recommendations issued by the panel.

"As the state’s chief medical executive, it is my duty to protect and promote public health, and I find the vaccine schedule recommendations produced by the AAP and AAFP well-evidenced and based on rigorous review," Badgasarian said. "This standing recommendation will help encourage vaccine accessibility and availability in Michigan.”

The press release from the state health department specifically referenced a recommendation that all newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.

Earlier this month, Kennedy’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to end the longstanding recommendation that all U.S. babies get the hepatitis B vaccine, according to the Associated Press.

In the state announcement, Dr. Bashar Yalldo, president of the Michigan chapter of the Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP), said routine childhood immunizations, including the hepatitis B birth dose, are supported by decades of real-world data and an exceptional safety record.

"The MAFP encourages parents to follow evidence-based medical guidance and to speak with their family physician about protecting their newborns, families and communities," Yalldo said.

Michigan is one of more than a dozen states, including New York, Pennsylvania, Maine, and California, that now refer to immunization schedules from the AAP and other national medical organizations, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

In a statement, clinical leaders from Corewell Health Children's, Mott Children's Hospital, the Henry Ford Health System, Munson Health and other health care providers expressed support for Bagdasarian's recommendation.

"By following the AAP's schedule, Michigan providers will be able to confidently administer safe and effective vaccines," their statement said.

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