ICLAC Newsletter – January 2026

ICLAC Newsletter
January 2026

https://immunizelac.org/

ICLAC’s newsletter will transition to a quarterly schedule in 2026, with a focus on local initiatives, community events, and resources. Keep an eye out for the next edition in April, with special monthly spotlights in-between!

As we turn the page on a new year, many of us reflect on a year that profoundly reshaped health care and public health in America. Last January, there was widespread concern and deep uncertainty about the positions and policy directions of a new presidential administration; “fear” was a word used not infrequently. Many of those concerns became sharp realities – always shocking, rarely surprising. The result has been a landscape that feels unrecognizable in many ways.

Misinformation and disinformation are layers of a broader anti-science agenda that touches research, policy, and patient care, fueling doubt about vaccine safety and effectiveness. As This is Our Shot co-founder and California Immunization Coalition Advisory Council member Dr. Alex McDonald has said, “chaos and confusion [around vaccine information and policy] is a feature, not a bug.” Indeed, chaos and confusion have been visibly present at ACIP meetings and in HHS communications and policy, culminating with RFK Jr.’s drastic, unilateral, and completely unscientific alteration of the CDC pediatric immunization schedule this week. Of course, all of this is unfolding against the backdrop of the worst series of measles outbreaks in a generation, driven by an erosion of herd immunity and putting U.S. measles elimination status in serious jeopardy. Along with at least 70 other organizations, ICLAC has signed on to the National Foundation of Infectious Diseases Joint Letter on US Childhood Immunization Schedule.

However, despite all of this, or perhaps because of what we’ve learned from it, we just might have an advantage we did not have a year ago. Evidence is still real. Truth still matters. Our mandate is now clear: to keep both illuminated. Organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians, and American Public Health Association have been among the most outspoken advocates for a return to science-based decision making. If we follow their lead, rethink the ways we communicate with the public, and continue to follow evidence-based guidelines, individually and collectively, we can resist the degradation of science in health care. While politicians seem to rarely honor their obligation to those they serve, health workers and our public health colleagues almost never flinch. Our patients trust us and our communities need us. As professionals in this space, we have the privilege of a means to fight back. We do not seek to be political, except when our patients’ well-being depends on it. This is one of those times, and I am grateful for the opportunity to stand up.

-Keri Hurley, PharmD, MPH
ICLAC President

Professional organizations respond to January 5th CDC Pediatric Immunization Schedule changes

• Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
  Public Health Reaffirms: No Modifications to Immunization Schedules or Vaccine Availability in Los Angeles County
• California Medical Association
  California physicians oppose CDC move to cut child vaccine recommendations
• California Academy of Family Physicians
  CAFP Statement on Updated Vaccine Schedule
• California Pharmacists Association
  Protecting Children Through Evidence-Based Immunization
• American Public Health Association
  Trump-RFK Jr.’s new vaccine schedule puts families at risk
• American Academy of Pediatrics
  AAP: CDC plan to remove universal childhood vaccine recommendations ‘dangerous and unnecessary
• National Foundation for Infectious Diseases
  Joint Letter on US Childhood Immunization Schedule
• CIDRAP – Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy
  HHS announces unprecedented overhaul of US childhood vaccine schedule

Influenza cases and hospital admissions are increasing in California

Through November 2025, 21.1% of LA County residents have received their 2025-2026 influenza vaccine. This is trending lower than previous years at the same time. Current lab positivity for influenza is at 9.9% for the week ending 12/27/25 and is increasing. Furthermore, the percent of Emergency Department visits for influenza-like illness is at 6.8% and is also increasing.

CDPH Influenza Update

LAC DPH Influenza Resources

Immunizations

• Influenza (Flu) Information for Public and Providers: lacounty.gov/ip/diseases/flu/index.htm
• Influenza Vaccine Dashboard: lacounty.gov/media/RespiratorySeason/vaccine/#/flu

Respiratory Illness Surveillance

• RESPWatch: lacounty.gov/acd/respwatch

SAVE THE DATE!

Don’t miss ICLAC’s Spring Vaccine Forum on Tuesday May 5th, 2026 at the California Endowment. More details to follow.

Updated Vaccine Recommendations:

California has joined the West Coast Health Alliance. (WCHA) to increase consistency of recommendations across states and increase public confidence.

CDPH and the WCHA will continue to review new information and will update recommendations as needed. These recommendations are the official recommendations of CDPH, as required under Assembly Bill 144 (2025, California Health and Safety Code section 120164).

Public Health for All Vaccine Recommendations

Related Articles:

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health – Why Hepatitis B Vaccination Begins at Birth

U.S. Sees Highest Measles Case Count in Decades as Outbreaks Grow