The New Mexico Department of Health announced Wednesday it will continue to recommend its full suite of childhood vaccinations despite a recent shakeup of federal vaccine guidelines. The announcement comes on the heels of an unprecedented change at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention slashing childhood recommendations from 17 to 11 total vaccines.
NMDOH said the new recommendations, announced by Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr., were not based on scientific evidence or safety data.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the state will not “join the federal government in walking away from decades of proven public health practice.”
Dr. Miranda Durham, chief medical officer for NMDOH, said the federal change threatens to confuse the public, but reassured New Mexicans vaccines are still safe, effective and save lives.
The announcement also confirms the vaccinations will still be covered by the Vaccines for Children Program, Medicaid, and private insurance, and there is no anticipated change in any vaccine availability.
This is just the latest in a growing list of instances where the NMDOH has announced recommendations in defiance of federal changes, which began when the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was completely reorganized by Kennedy last fall.
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
