By Julie Rovner

April 3, 2026

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<br /> <span class="byline">Julie Rovner, KFF Health News</span></p> <div> <p>LISTEN: After a federal judge blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to pare down childhood vaccine recommendations, plenty of questions remain — like how annual vaccines for the flu will get approved. KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent Julie Rovner spoke with WAMU about how the decision is rippling through the public health system.</p> </div> <p>Big swings in federal vaccine policy are creating confusion for some parents and clinicians. A <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/podcast/what-the-health-438-rfk-vaccine-schedule-changes-blocked-obamacare-midterms-march-19-2026/">federal judge recently struck down</a> Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new, <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/decision-memo-adopting-revised-childhood-adolescent-immunization-schedule.pdf">shortened list of recommended vaccines</a> for all kids. But with the Trump administration likely to appeal, the situation is in flux. Meanwhile, cases of <a href="https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-vaccines/youngest-us-kids-uptake-drops-flu-hepatitis-b-3-other-vaccines#:~:text=Rising%20measles%2C%20pertussis%20cases">vaccine-preventable illnesses</a> such as measles, mumps, and whooping cough continue to accumulate nationwide and in the Washington, D.C., area.</p> <p>Julie Rovner, KFF Health News chief Washington correspondent and host of the podcast <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/tag/what-the-health/"><em>What The Health?</em></a>, appeared on WAMU’s “Health Hub” on April 1 to break down what’s changed, what hasn’t, and what’s still unclear.</p> <p><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a href="https://www.kff.org/about-us/">KFF</a>.</p> <h3>USE OUR CONTENT</h3> <p>This story can be republished for free (<a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/immigrant-seniors-medicare-california-big-beautiful-bill-eligibility-taxes/view/republish/">details</a>).</p> <p>
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