Tell HHS to Put Informed Consent and Parental Choice at the Center of Vaccine Policy!

For the first time in years, Americans have an important opportunity to directly weigh in on how federal vaccine recommendations are made.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking public comments on the federal vaccine recommendation system, including whether the current categories of “routine,” “risk-based,” and “shared clinical decision-making” recommendations should be changed.

HHS is also asking important questions about the scientific evidence used to make vaccine recommendations, what should happen when randomized controlled trial evidence is limited or absent, vaccine timing and sequencing, informed consent, individual autonomy, religious freedom, mandates and how public trust can be restored.

This is an important opportunity for parents, grandparents, healthcare practitioners, vaccine-injured individuals and their families, and anyone concerned about medical freedom to make their voices heard.

Comments must be submitted by September 20, 2026.

TAKE ACTION

Submit a public comment to HHS and urge the agency to make informed consent, parental rights, individualized medical decision-making and rigorous scientific evidence the foundation of federal vaccine recommendations.

Submit your comment through the federal rulemaking portal and reference:

Docket No. HHS-OS-2026-0332

https://www.regulations.gov/commenton/HHS-OS-2026-0332-0001

Comments may also be submitted by mail to:

Cynthia Goss
200 Independence Ave. SW
Washington, DC 20201

Be sure to include Docket No. HHS-OS-2026-0332 on your submission.

The HHS notice includes 18 specific questions for public comment, but commenters do not need to address every question.

When possible, personalize your comment. If you or your family have experienced vaccine injury, pressure to vaccinate, difficulty obtaining an exemption or a healthcare provider who was unable or unwilling to individualize vaccine decisions, consider explaining your experience.

SAMPLE SCRIPT

“Dear HHS,

I am writing in response to Docket No. HHS-OS-2026-0332 regarding federal vaccine recommendations.

I urge HHS to place informed consent, parental rights, individual autonomy and individualized medical decision-making at the center of federal vaccine policy.

No vaccine should be treated as a one-size-fits-all medical intervention. Parents and individuals should receive complete information about potential benefits and risks and should be free to make vaccination decisions without coercion, mandates or penalties.

Federal recommendations should also reflect the strength and limitations of the available scientific evidence. When evidence is limited, uncertain or evolving, that uncertainty should be clearly communicated rather than presented as settled science.

Please establish a vaccine recommendation framework that respects individual circumstances, protects religious and medical freedom, requires rigorous and transparent safety evaluation, and recognizes that the final medical decision belongs to the individual or, in the case of a child, the parent or guardian.

Thank you for considering my comments.”

TALKING POINTS

Informed consent should apply to every vaccine decision. A government designation of a vaccine as “routine” should never be interpreted to mean that vaccination is automatic or that an individual discussion of risks and benefits is unnecessary.

Parents should retain the ultimate authority to make medical decisions for their children. Federal vaccine policy should recognize individual circumstances, medical history, family history, prior reactions, religious convictions and parental judgment.

Federal vaccine recommendations should not become de facto mandates. HHS itself states that federal recommendations are recommendations, not mandates. Yet federal recommendations can have significant downstream effects on insurance coverage, government programs, medical practice and state policies.

President Trump’s August 10 Executive Order reduced the number of diseases for which children are routinely vaccinated from 18 to 11. Public comments can help shape how these changes to federal vaccine policy move forward.

The strength of the evidence should determine the strength of the recommendation. When evidence is limited, uncertain or evolving, HHS should clearly disclose that uncertainty rather than defaulting to a universal recommendation.

Vaccine safety research should include rigorous comparisons of health outcomes. HHS should prioritize high-quality research capable of identifying both short- and long-term health outcomes and should continually reevaluate the benefit-risk profile of vaccines after they are recommended.

The timing and number of vaccines recommended should be carefully examined. Parents and healthcare practitioners should have greater flexibility to consider whether vaccines should be denied, delayed, spaced apart or administered individually rather than several at the same visit.

“Shared clinical decision-making” should not be limited to only certain vaccines. Meaningful discussion between a healthcare practitioner and patient or parent should be part of every medical intervention. A “routine” recommendation should never eliminate the need for informed consent.

While mandates should not exist, vaccine policy should at the very least protect religious freedom and individual autonomy. HHS specifically asks whether these principles should be considered when establishing vaccine recommendations. They should be fundamental considerations.

Public trust cannot be restored through coercion. HHS acknowledges concerns about the effect of mandates and other high-pressure approaches on public trust. Trust is earned through transparency, open scientific debate, acknowledgment of uncertainty, and respect for individual choice.

It is imperative that the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) be composed of members free from conflicts of interest. No member should have financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Families affected by vaccine injuries deserve to be heard. Personal experiences with vaccine reactions and injuries can provide important information about the real-world consequences of federal vaccine policy and should be taken seriously by policymakers.

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