What are you looking for?

Dr. Sophia Newcomer: Updated CDC vaccine guidelines for kids

January 13, 2026

Part of:

How to cover vaccines responsibly

SciLine interviews experts and then makes the video and other resources rapidly available for TV newsrooms to use on air.

Journalists: Get Email Updates

What is Experts on Camera?

Federal health officials recently announced a large change to the childhood vaccination schedule, dropping the number of shots recommended for all children from 17 to 11. On January 13, 2026, SciLine interviewed Dr. Sophia Newcomer, an associate professor in the School of Public & Community Health Services at the University of Montana.

TV bundle includes:

Soundbite (SOT)
VOSOT script (can be used as-is or modified)
Raw, full-length interview video & log with timecodes (upon request via form below)

These resources are free to use. No attribution to SciLine is required.

Soundbite (SOT) and pronouncer

Downloadable video of the soundbite

High definition (mp4, 1280x720)

Download

Click for VOSOT script (can be used as-is or modified)

ANCHOR
THE C-D-C RECENTLY ANNOUNCED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO ITS CHILDHOOD VACCINE SCHEDULE…SCALING BACK THE NUMBER OF RECOMMENDED SHOTS.
THE C-D-C SAYS THE CHANGE BRINGS THE U-S CLOSER IN LINE WITH OTHER PEER COUNTRIES.

VO
DOCTOR SOPHIA NEWCOMER… A PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA… SAYS THOSE VACCINES PROTECTED CHILDREN… AND REMOVING THEM COULD PUT KIDS AT RISK.
ACCORDING TO NEWCOMER…THE CDC DID NOT INCLUDE INPUT FROM DOCTORS OR THE PUBLIC WHEN IT MADE THIS CHANGE.

SOT 
Duration: 0:45 
Super: Dr. Sophia Newcomer—Professor, University of Montana
“The concern here is with the changes that have made and now that we have vaccines that are no longer recommended to all healthy children, we’re gonna see a decline in vaccination rates and what that’s gonna lead to is more disease. We’re gonna see both short-term and long-term outcomes. In terms of short- term outcomes, some of these vaccines protect against diseases that are really harmful to kids when they’re little. One example is rotavirus vaccination. Another is seasonal influenza. These are diseases that put kids in the hospital and make them really ill. And the vaccines are great at helping to protect them from severe illness.”

VO
FOR PARENTS WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT VACCINATING THEIR KIDS…DOCTOR NEWCOMER SAYS TO TALK WITH YOUR CHILD’S PEDIATRICIAN… AND LOOK AT RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS.

Raw, full-length interview covers:

How the CDC’s vaccination schedule affects which vaccines children receive, and likely implications of the new schedule for the health of individual children and the prevalence of childhood diseases;
Whether scientific and medical organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics support the schedule change;
Details about the six vaccines that are no longer universally recommended;
Advice for parents who are confused or deciding which vaccine schedule to follow;
How parents can access childhood vaccines that are no longer universally recommended by the CDC; and
How insurance companies make decisions about which vaccines to cover.