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    CDC Removes Multiple Childhood Vaccines from the Recommended Schedule

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    A Turning Point for Parental Choice, Medical Freedom, and Childhood Health Policy​

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    ​On January 5, 2026, the CDC director signed a decision memorandum announcing a significant change to the routine childhood vaccine schedule. The COVID-19, influenza, hepatitis A and B, rotavirus, and meningococcal vaccines are no longer recommended routinely for healthy children. For the first time, parental choice and individual risk assessment are being placed ahead of one-size-fits-all mandates.
    The CDC will continue to organize the childhood immunization schedule into three categories:
    • Immunizations Recommended for All Children
    • Immunizations Recommended for Certain High-Risk Groups or Populations
    • Immunizations Based on Shared Clinical Decision-Making
    The first category includes vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, polio, pertussis, tetanus, diphtheria, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), pneumococcal disease, human papillomavirus (HPV), and varicella (chickenpox). This represents fewer than 40 doses, compared to nearly 100 doses under the prior schedule when annual COVID-19 and influenza shots are included.
    ​My lawsuit against the CDC, Thomas v. Monarez, was filed by attorney Richard Jaffe on behalf of Dr. Paul Thomas, Dr. Kenneth Stoller, and Stand for Health Freedom in federal court in Washington, D.C., in August 2025. The action remains open, and it is our hope that it may ultimately result in all routine childhood vaccinations being removed from Category 1 and placed into Category 3—shared clinical decision-making.
    A second hoped-for outcome is that companies and individuals involved in administering vaccines will once again have liability for harm caused by vaccines once those products are no longer on the routine childhood schedule. This would effectively place vaccines back in line with other pharmaceutical products and medical interventions.
    The removal of mandates and the restoration of liability for harm are essential steps toward restoring parental authority over what happens to their children. No doctor, politician, government agency, or public health authority should have the power to mandate medical treatments for healthy individuals. The COVID era revealed how corrupted and incapable of common sense and proper scientific analysis many institutions were—and, in many cases, still are.
    ​We are not free from the tyranny of mandated childhood vaccination schedules until every parent has the right to informed consent and the unquestioned right to say no thank you to any medical procedure. It is time to end one-size-fits-all medicine and return to individualized care that respects natural immunity, personal choice, and diverse lifestyles.
    We are about to expose the biggest lie in medicine. As more parents opt out of the vaccine paradigm, the growing population of unvaccinated children will provide real-world data. That data will continue to confirm what my research and multiple independent datasets have already shown: unvaccinated children are significantly healthier than their vaccinated peers.
    Imagine a world where rates of autism, ADHD, asthma, infections, chronic illness, allergies, and autoimmune disease are reduced by 50 to 90 percent. That future is entirely possible—and likely—once mandates and coercion end and parents are free to follow the science conducted by researchers who are not beholden to pharmaceutical or political pressure.
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    Dr. Paul (retired)

    Just A Mom Notes:

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    ​For those of us parents who have children injured by vaccines, this feels like a breath of fresh air. A schedule that mandates any vaccine simply doesn’t make sense to me. Informed consent is critical. If you don’t know what you’re putting into your child’s body, how can you know whether you’re truly okay with it?
    ​Blind trust doesn’t work anymore. COVID taught us that. The countless childhood illnesses and injuries linked to vaccines have taught us that as well.
    I also struggle with the fact that if a product causes harm to me or my child, and I can’t hold anyone accountable because I was told it was “safe,” that responsibility somehow disappears. The idea that a doctor can dismiss a family from their practice because a parent chooses not to vaccinate their child is unacceptable to me. Why? Because they don’t go home with us afterward to care for our children. They don’t pay for the therapies, services, or lifelong support required when a child is harmed. They don’t live with the consequences—families do.
    I know that for those of us who are relying on Kennedy to help make these changes, the process can feel slow. Please understand the pressure he is under. He is going up against a Goliath.
    ​I urge parents to stand up for their children. My niece, whom I love dearly, has shared that she plans to vaccinate only what is required for school. Many people feel the same way. There are only five states that do not allow exemptions. In my opinion, exemptions exist because vaccines have not been tested against true placebos.
    We are supposed to be living in the land of the free, yet mandates do not reflect that principle. My request has always been the same: become as informed as you possibly can. Make decisions based on your own health history and your family’s history. Remember—God gave us an immune system. Let’s use it.
    ​
    — Just a Mom
    #KidsFirst4Ever, #ParentalChoice, #InformedConsent, #MedicalFreedom, #PediatricHealth, #VaccinePolicy, #SharedDecisionMaking, #HealthFreedom, #FamilyHealth
  • Published on

    The Massive Incentives for Pediatricians to Vaccinate May Finally Be Ending

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    ​How Federal Policy Is Beginning to Expose Vaccine Payment Incentives in Pediatrics

    vaccine incentive payments pediatric care, CMS Medicaid vaccine policy changes 2026, financial incentives in childhood vaccination, pediatric vaccine reimbursement ethics, informed consent pediatric medicine
    The massive financial incentives for pediatricians to vaccinate infants and children with as many vaccines as possible may soon be coming to an end.
    In an important post titled “BREAKING: HHS ANNOUNCES TECTONIC SHIFT IN CMS VACCINE UPTAKE TRACKING FOR PEDIATRIC VACCINES,” published January 1, 2026, by James Lyons-Weiler, PhD, a long-overdue change was announced.
    “CMS just took a shot at vaccine incentive systems. Dr. Thomas and I exposed the perverse and misaligned incentives in 2021. Now HHS has acted to end backing the practice with federal dollars.”
    ​After years of warnings from researchers about unethical and coercive payment structures embedded in pediatric and prenatal care, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued State Health Official Letter SHO #25-005. This directive removes four key immunization-status measures from the 2026 Medicaid and CHIP Core Sets, effectively dismantling a major mechanism used to financially pressure physicians into meeting vaccine benchmarks.
    In 2021, James Lyons-Weiler and I published a peer-reviewed paper in the International Journal of Vaccine Theory, Practice, and Research titled:
    As part of that research, we conducted a 30-day billing analysis at my pediatric practice—one that honored informed consent and allowed families to choose some, none, or all CDC-recommended vaccines. Using real reimbursement data and actual superbills, we demonstrated that when patients declined CDC-scheduled vaccines, the practice faced projected annual losses exceeding one million dollars.
    ​At the time, my practice served approximately 15,000 active patients and generated roughly $3 million in gross annual billings. Pediatric practices that accept insurance typically operate with 70–80% overhead, making this financial reality untenable. I was forced to cut employee pay, lost valued staff members, and experienced years in which my own income as the sole owner was either negative or barely sustainable. Instituting a modest practice fee was the only way we were able to keep the doors open.
    ​What shocked us most was the magnitude of the so-called “administration fee.” This was the only vaccine-related income tracked in our study—yet the financial penalties for ethical practice were severe, real, and fully documented. These losses were not theoretical. They represented a measurable punishment for practicing medicine with integrity.
    What the study did not include were the additional financial incentives layered on top of vaccine administration, including:
    • Bonuses for achieving high rates of “fully vaccinated” two-year-olds (with incentives varying by insurance carrier)
    • Bonus payments on all office services for meeting vaccine benchmarks
    • Financial penalties—such as reduced reimbursement across the board—or even removal from insurance networks for failing to meet vaccine-based “quality” measures
    ​Vaccines are also tightly tied to well-child visits. Many insurance carriers offer substantial bonuses for high volumes of these visits, which often function as vaccine appointments disguised as preventive care. In the United States, infants typically have well visits at birth, a few days later, at two weeks, and at 2, 4, 6, 9, and 12 months of age. These visits are commonly reimbursed at $200–$300 per visit.
    ​At an average of $250 per visit, seven visits in the first year alone amount to $1,750 per infant. During my years in practice, I routinely saw more than 30 new infants per month. That translates to approximately $630,000 annually in first-year well-visit reimbursements alone. While it is true that pediatric care is labor-intensive and expensive to deliver, the financial incentives tied to vaccination volume are undeniable.
    ​Our data comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated children showed that vaccinated children experienced significantly higher rates of illness, resulting in more office visits for infections, chronic conditions, neurodevelopmental disorders, asthma, eczema, and more. Increased vaccination also correlated with increased sick visits and long-term disease management. Pediatricians who do not vaccinate consistently report the opposite experience—their patients are healthier, allowing them to focus on true wellness rather than chronic disease management.
    ​CMS’s recent action represents an important acknowledgment of these realities:
    “The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued SHO #25-005, removing four key immunization-status measures from the 2026 Medicaid/CHIP Core Sets. This action acknowledges that not all metrics measure quality—and that ethics cannot be reduced to a performance score.”
    ​
    “We now have documented federal recognition that quantity-driven vaccine incentives may be not only insufficient, but harmful.”
    If quality measures are going to exist, they must reflect actual health outcomes, not blind adherence to protocols or prescribing behavior. Today, metrics often reward how well a physician prescribes asthma or ADHD medications rather than how effectively children remain healthy in the first place.
    ​2026 must be the year of a massive awakening and a true paradigm shift. It is time to celebrate the innate immune strength of unvaccinated children and reject the fear-based narratives of a broken establishment that has profited from policies that place incentives above ethics and children’s health.
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    Dr. Paul (retired)

    Citation
    Lyons-Weiler J, Thomas P. Vaccine Practice Payment Schedules Create Perverse Incentives for Unnecessary Medical Procedures—At What Cost to Patients?
    International Journal of Vaccine Theory, Practice, and Research. 2021;2(1):25–37.
    https://doi.org/10.56098/ijvtpr.v2i1.21
    #KidsFirst4Ever #PediatricEthics #InformedConsent #MedicalFreedom #ChildHealth #CMS #MedicaidReform #VaccinePolicy #HealthcareTransparency #ParentsDeserveTruth @KidsFirst4Ever
  • Published on

    Can We Please Stop Killing Babies with Vaccines?

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    ​A Critical Examination of Infant Mortality Data, Vaccination Timing, and Emerging Research

    infant mortality and vaccines research, vaccine timing and infant death risk, pediatric vaccine safety analysis, informed consent and childhood vaccination, emerging evidence on infant vaccination outcomes
    We now have more than enough data to justify an immediate halt to infant vaccination until further, independent research is completed.
    ​A recent study, “Increased Mortality Associated with 2-Month-Old Infant Vaccinations” by Karl Jablonowski and Brian Hooker, should serve as a wake-up call for parents, healthcare providers, and anyone involved in infant vaccination.
    Yes, this is a preprint and will undergo peer review. However, the findings are too significant to ignore or delay action.
    ​This paper reviews six studies and reports that 78% of SIDS cases reported to VAERS between 1990 and 2019 occurred within one week of infant vaccination.
    Infant vaccines are killing our babies—and at rates far higher than deaths from the diseases for which these vaccines are administered.
    The Jablonowski and Hooker study also found that which vaccines are given matters, with some products, such as Vaxelis, showing significantly higher associated risks.
    infant mortality and vaccines research, vaccine timing and infant death risk, pediatric vaccine safety analysis, informed consent and childhood vaccination, emerging evidence on infant vaccination outcomes
    ​From Table 2 (page 4) of the study, the authors state:
    ​“Children vaccinated in their second month of life were more likely to die in their third month of life compared to unvaccinated children during the same time window. The hazard for the vaccinated translated to increased mortality of 42% for DTaP, 29% for HepB, 35% for Hib, 32% for polio, 41% for pneumococcal, and 74% for rotavirus (OR = 1.74 [1.26–2.41], p = 0.0005). For every vaccine inspected, children who were not vaccinated in their second month of life had lower mortality rates than those who were vaccinated.”
    It is unclear why the study excluded infants who died before 90 days of life or those vaccinated before 60 days, especially since the CDC schedule allows several “2-month” vaccines to be administered as early as six weeks of age, including polio, DTaP, Hib, pneumococcal, and rotavirus vaccines.
    https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/imz-schedules/child-adolescent-catch-up.html
    ​Including those cases would likely strengthen the observed association between vaccination and infant mortality.
    The study also found that infant death rates among vaccinated children were:
    • Higher in females
    • Higher among Black infants
    • Higher in infants receiving combination vaccines or multiple vaccines at a single visit
    ​While reported SIDS rates have declined, overall infant mortality has remained relatively stable, suggesting that deaths are being reclassified as suffocation or other ill-defined causes.
    ​National data show that infant mortality between 28 and 364 days of life remains significant. In the study’s dataset, approximately 700,000 children were born, and about 5,800 died before their third birthday.
    infant mortality and vaccines research, vaccine timing and infant death risk, pediatric vaccine safety analysis, informed consent and childhood vaccination, emerging evidence on infant vaccination outcomes
    Using a conservative national infant mortality rate of 1 death per 200 births, and approximately 4 million births annually, this equates to roughly 20,000 infant deaths per year.
    ​According to CDC data:
    “Nearly 20,000 infants died in the U.S. in 2021, for an infant mortality rate of 5.4 deaths per 1,000 live births. SIDS was listed as the third leading cause of death, with 1,389 cases. However, deaths previously classified as SIDS are increasingly categorized as suffocation or ‘unknown.’ In 2021, 1,062 deaths were attributed to unknown causes and 905 to accidental suffocation, totaling 3,356 deaths.”
    — VAX FACTS: What to Consider Before Vaccinating at All Ages & Stages of Life
    ​Since vaccine-related death coding was removed decades ago, it is reasonable to assume that a substantial portion of these deaths may be vaccine-related. Using conservative assumptions, if at least 3,000 infant deaths annually are SIDS or SUDI, and 78% occur within one week of vaccination, then approximately 2,340 infant deaths per year may be vaccine-associated.
    By comparison, deaths from the diseases vaccines aim to prevent average roughly 20–40 per year. Even assuming vaccines are 100% effective—which they are not—the math suggests we may be killing around 100 infants for every one potentially saved.
    ​Vaccine promoters will argue that this analysis ignores lives saved by vaccination. However, most reductions in childhood mortality occurred before the introduction of widespread vaccination. We are also told that diseases will inevitably return if vaccination stops—another claim not supported for most illnesses.
    Parents who choose to vaccinate should be allowed to do so. But they should do so with full awareness that current safety claims are not supported by unbiased science. The evidence increasingly suggests that vaccination represents one of the greatest risks facing our children today.
    ​The study’s conclusion is unequivocal:
    ​“For every vaccine inspected, children who were not vaccinated in their second month of life had lower mortality rates than those who were vaccinated in that same time window.”
    Parents must protect their babies from a system that has lost its way.
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    Dr. Paul (retired)

    #WithTheWind #DrPaul #PediatricPerspectives #InfantHealth #InformedConsent #VaccineSafety #ParentalRights #MedicalEthics #PublicHealthResearch #ChildHealth @DoctorsAndScience @KidsFirst4Ever
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    Putting Kids First in 2026: Truth, Coaching, and a New Community for Parents

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    Happy New Year 2026!

    putting kids first community, parent health coaching without censorship, children’s health truth resources, alternative pediatric wellness support, uncensored health information for parents

    Dr. Paul and DeeDee (JAM)

    After a long battle with the Oregon Medical Board (OMB), I’m grateful to say that chapter is behind me, and I am free. I am also blessed beyond measure to share life with my new wife, DeeDee Hoover. We have been working side by side for several years and co-authored the 2025 book VAX FACTS (Morgan & James No. 1 bestseller for 2025). The book makes clear that, for every childhood vaccine, the risks exceed the benefits. Deciding what is right for you and your family is deeply personal—and it’s something we coach parents through at https://www.kidsfirst4ever.com.
    Our joint efforts moving forward are centered on one guiding principle: putting kids first. We do this through one-on-one coaching, and DeeDee continues to work hands-on with some newborns, offering bodywork that—by the families’ own reports—can be truly transformative. Parents often see less crying, improved sleep and feeding, support with tongue tie and scoliosis concerns, and guidance that goes far beyond the basics. Once you’ve met DeeDee in person or worked with either of us through coaching, you become family—with a direct line of communication and support.
    ​With Dr. Paul retired from clinical practice and DeeDee pivoting her energy toward her passion for helping children, we are united in creating a new space and resource for parents—one that fills a real and growing need.
    ​The mainstream medical model is broken beyond repair. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), representing approximately 67,000 pediatricians, continues to double down on the claim that vaccines are “safe and effective” and that children should receive between 70 and 100 doses throughout childhood. Meanwhile, parents are left searching for trustworthy information and meaningful community. That is what we aim to provide.
    We will be publishing ongoing blogs on Substack with no paywall, alongside a paid community space designed to foster deeper connection and conversation. Inside the member community, we’ll host interactive groups, special posts, and videos focused on the issues that matter most to families and children.
    ​This work requires tremendous effort, but it is also what brings us the greatest joy. It reflects our shared purpose: to use the time we have to improve the health, freedom, and future of our children.
    Dr. Paul will continue his podcast, CHDTV Pediatric Perspectives, available here: https://live.childrenshealthdefense.org/chd-tv/browse-all/pediatric-perspectives-with-paul-thomas/
    DeeDee and Dr. Paul will also be repurposing the podcast With the Wind to focus more directly on children’s and family wellness. Details are coming soon as we prepare to host it within the Substack members’ section: https://kidsfirst4ever.substack.com/
    We warmly invite those who follow us on Facebook, YouTube, and other social media platforms to join us on Substack. To date, Substack remains one of the few major platforms that has not censored our voices or the critical information parents need to make informed decisions.
    Happy New Year to everyone—and thank you to all who have supported us along the way. We are excited about this next chapter and look forward to building a strong, connected community of parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and health-freedom and truth seekers.
    As devastating as COVID and the shutdowns were, they also served as a wake-up call. They opened the eyes of millions to powerful forces seeking control. That awareness cannot be undone. The genie is out of the bottle. We can’t unsee what we’ve seen, and we can’t unknow what we now know.
    ​With gratitude,
    Dr. Paul & DeeDee (Jam)
    ​#PuttingKidsFirst, #KidsFirst4Ever, #ParentEmpowerment, #ChildrensHealth, #HealthFreedom, #InformedParents, #MedicalFreedom, #WellnessTruth, #ParentCommunity, #UncensoredHealth
    @kidsfirst4ever @paulthomasmd
  • Published on

    Denmark vs. the U.S.: Panic or Proof in Pediatric Policy

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    What happens when we compare vaccine schedules instead of fearing them

    Denmark vaccine schedule comparison, U.S. childhood vaccine policy debate, informed consent in pediatrics, fear-based public health messaging, international vaccine schedule differences
    In this short but powerful video, Dr. K. Paul Stoller challenges a familiar narrative: that even questioning the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule will lead to catastrophe. Parents are often warned that aligning any part of the U.S. schedule with countries like Denmark would result in outbreaks, overwhelmed hospitals, and widespread harm. But Denmark already exists—and its children are not experiencing the dire outcomes being predicted.
    Rather than arguing for or against vaccines, this video asks a more fundamental question: Why does comparison itself trigger panic? Denmark follows a different childhood vaccine schedule, with fewer routine shots and different timing, yet Danish children are healthy, their healthcare system is stable, and society is functioning. If comparison alone is framed as dangerous, the issue may not be safety—but control of the narrative.
    The video invites parents, policymakers, and healthcare professionals to step back from fear-based messaging and return to evidence, transparency, and honest international comparison. Science should welcome questions. Public health should withstand scrutiny. And parents deserve clear answers grounded in reality—not alarm.

    Watch the Video

    ​We encourage you to watch this brief video and decide for yourself whether panic or proof is guiding the conversation.
    ​If you value informed consent, critical thinking, and open scientific discussion, share this video with others who believe that asking questions is not dangerous—it’s necessary.

    A Note from DeeDee (JAM)

    ​As Just a Mom, I’ve learned that the most important thing we can do for our children is stay curious, stay grounded, and stay willing to ask questions—even when those questions make others uncomfortable. Watching how children thrive in different countries reminds me that there is more than one way to support health, and that comparison is not rebellion, it’s responsibility. Parents are not reckless for wanting to understand the “why” behind decisions that affect their children’s bodies and futures. We deserve transparency, honesty, and space to think. When we replace fear with facts and trust parents to engage thoughtfully, we create a healthier conversation—and ultimately, healthier kids.
    #KidsFirst4Ever #InformedConsent #PediatricHealth #VaccinePolicy #MedicalTransparency #CriticalThinking #ParentAdvocacy @AmerAcadPeds
  • Published on

    Vax Facts: A 2025 Bestseller Empowering Parents to Make Informed Vaccine Decisions

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    How Dr. Paul and DeeDee Help Families Understand Bodily Autonomy, Parental Rights, and Medical Choice

    Vax Facts vaccine book, parental rights and vaccines, bodily autonomy medical decisions, vaccine exemptions by state, informed consent in healthcare

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    Dr. Paul and DeeDee — Just a Mom, authors of the 2025 bestseller Vax Facts: What to Consider Before Vaccinating at All Ages & Stages of Life — thank you for your continued support in helping this important book reach families who need it most. 
    Thank you as well to everyone who made this possible; while becoming a bestseller is meaningful, what matters most is that this achievement allows more people to access this vital information.
    Among the many critical issues affecting our children today, bodily integrity stands above all else. No government, public health agency, doctor, or other entity should have the authority to force medical treatments or injections on our children. Period.
    There has been meaningful progress over the past year toward removing vaccine mandates. Currently, 45 states allow religious and/or philosophical exemptions. These exemptions affirm that legislators in those states recognize a parent’s or guardian’s right to decline some or all vaccines for their children.
    However, five states — California, New York, Maine, Connecticut, and West Virginia — still allow only medical exemptions for school attendance. In these states, parents who do not wish to follow the full state-recommended vaccine schedule are often left with only two options: homeschooling or leaving the state. Medical exemptions are extremely difficult to obtain, as physicians who provide them risk professional discipline or loss of licensure.
    ​In Vax Facts, parents learn that for every vaccine on the childhood immunization schedule, the risk of serious harm or death from the vaccine itself is greater than the risk posed by the disease it is intended to prevent. The book is written as an accessible, science-based resource for expectant parents and families seeking clear, factual information to guide informed decision-making.
    ​An important legal step toward restoring religious exemptions nationwide has also occurred. The United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) vacated a Second Circuit ruling that had allowed New York State to penalize Amish families for refusing pharmaceutical injections in violation of their religious beliefs.
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    As we look ahead with hope for our children’s future, it is essential to remember that their health and well-being remain in our hands. Above all, children need love and connection, clean filtered water, nourishing organic food, regular physical activity, and adequate sleep. Equally important is remaining vigilant about environmental toxins — including excessive screen time, which can be deeply stressful even when it appears entertaining.
    With gratitude and blessings,
    DeeDee and Dr. Paul

    Give the Gift of Informed Choice This Holiday Season

    ​As the holidays approach, Vax Facts: What to Consider Before Vaccinating at All Ages & Stages of Life makes a thoughtful and empowering gift for parents, grandparents, and anyone who cares deeply about children’s health. This bestselling book by Dr. Paul and DeeDee (Just a Mom) offers clear, accessible, science-based information to support informed medical decision-making. Whether you’re shopping for a growing family or sharing resources with loved ones, Vax Facts is a meaningful gift that lasts far beyond the holiday season. Learn more at the official VAX FACTS website or order the paperback directly through IndiePubs.