Por Adam Cancryn, Meg Tirrell, Brenda Goodman y Katherine Dillinger, CNN

El Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de EE.UU. (HHS, por sus siglas en inglés) planea revisar el calendario de vacunas recomendadas para niños en EE.UU., dijo el jueves a CNN una persona familiarizada con los planes.

El nuevo calendario propuesto recomendaría menos inyecciones, acercándolo más a lo que se recomienda en otros países desarrollados. Se espera que el calendario de EE.UU. esté cerca de, si no idéntico a, las recomendaciones en Dinamarca, según la persona, que pidió no ser identificada porque no estaba autorizada para hablar sobre el tema.

El plan no ha sido finalizado y aún podría cambiar. El HHS había planeado hacer el anuncio el viernes por la tarde, dijo la persona, pero se pospuso hasta 2026 para no entrar en conflicto con los planes de la Casa Blanca de anunciar más esfuerzos para reducir los costos de los medicamentos a través de precios de “Nación Más Favorecida”.

Un portavoz de HHS declinó hacer comentarios y remitió las preguntas a la declaración anterior de la agencia, que había pospuesto un “anuncio sobre la salud infantil” hasta el próximo año.

La revisión planeada llega semanas después de que el presidente Donald Trump ordenara a los funcionarios revisar el calendario de vacunas infantiles y considerar recomendar menos inyecciones.

“¡Es ridículo!” escribió Trump a principios de este mes en una publicación en Truth Social sobre el calendario actual de EE.UU. “Por eso acabo de firmar un memorando presidencial que ordena al Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos ‘ACELERAR’ una evaluación integral de los calendarios de vacunas de otros países alrededor del mundo, y alinear mejor el calendario de vacunas de EE.UU.”

En una publicación en X, el secretario de Salud, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., respondió: “Gracias, señor presidente. Estamos en ello”.

El calendario de vacunas de Dinamarca para 2025, publicado por el Centro Europeo para la Prevención y el Control de Enfermedades, muestra que el país vacuna a los niños contra menos enfermedades infecciosas que EE.UU.

Dinamarca actualmente no recomienda la inmunización contra el virus respiratorio sincitial, o RSV, para niños; EE.UU. sí lo hace. El RSV es la principal causa de hospitalización en bebés.

Tampoco recomienda las vacunas contra el rotavirus, neumococo, hepatitis A, meningococo o varicela para niños, mientras que estas vacunas están en el calendario de EE.UU.

“¿Por qué querríamos emular eso alguna vez?” preguntó el Dr. Paul Offit, director del Centro de Educación sobre Vacunas del Hospital de Niños de Filadelfia. “Tomaron una decisión financiera. Decidieron permitir ese grado de sufrimiento y hospitalización. No querían gastar tanto dinero por cada hospitalización prevenida”.

La Dra. Tracy Beth Hoeg, recién nombrada directora interina del Centro de Evaluación e Investigación de Medicamentos de la Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos de EE.UU., dio una presentación sobre el calendario de vacunas danés en la reunión de este mes de los asesores de vacunas de los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades de EE.UU. (CDC, por sus siglas en inglés).

“Creo que una de las razones por las que Dinamarca puede hacer un mejor trabajo al hacer sus recomendaciones de vacunas es que no es una discusión politizada”, dijo Hoeg, ciudadana de doble nacionalidad de EE.UU. y Dinamarca. Describió un sistema multipartidista, una cultura de debate y un fuerte reconocimiento de los conocimientos y desconocimientos.

Hoeg señaló que con menos vacunas, hay menos exposición al aluminio, que se usa como adyuvante —un ingrediente añadido para crear una respuesta inmune más fuerte. Se utiliza en varias vacunas infantiles porque permite a los médicos administrar menos dosis, lo que requiere una menor cantidad de vacuna. A pesar de la amplia evidencia de que el us

By Joseph Ataman, Ross Adkin, CNN

Brussels (CNN) — The head of the European Union Council said early Friday the bloc had agreed on a deal to provide 90 billion euros ($105.5 billion) in support to Ukraine for 2026-2027.

“We have a deal,” EU Council President Antonio Costa wrote on X. “Decision to provide 90 billion euros of support to Ukraine for 2026-27 approved. We committed, we delivered.”

Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed the deal.

“The financial package for Ukraine is in place,” he wrote on X. “Ukraine will receive an interest-free loan of 90 billion Euros.”

Neither gave details on how the EU would fund the package.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
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By Kit Maher, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump announced Thursday the White House will host the “Patriot Games,” a competition with young athletes from across the county, as part of the celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary next year.

“In the fall, we will host the first ever Patriot Games, an unprecedented four-day athletic event featuring the greatest high school athletes — one young man and one young woman from each state and territory,” Trump said.

Democrats have mocked the athletic competition online, comparing it to “The Hunger Games,” a dystopian young adult novel and popular movie franchise in which children are forced to fight to the death in televised arenas.

The president revealed the plans for the Patriot Games in a video announcement from Freedom 250, which was launched Thursday. It is a “a national, non-partisan organization leading the Administration’s celebration of America’s 250th birthday,” according to a news release.

Trump previously previewed the competition in July, saying at the time it would be televised and led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy.

During the video, Trump also highlighted his plans to begin construction soon on a new arch monumentRead more

By Adam Cancryn, Meg Tirrell, Brenda Goodman, Katherine Dillinger, CNN

(CNN) — The US Department of Health and Human Services is planning to overhaul the schedule of recommended vaccines for children in the US, a person familiar with the plans told CNN on Thursday.

The proposed new schedule would recommend fewer shots, bringing it closer in line with what’s recommended in other developed countries. The expectation is that the US schedule will be close to, if not identical to, recommendations in Denmark, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak about the matter.

The plan has not been finalized and could still change. HHS had planned to make the announcement Friday afternoon, the person said, but it was pushed to 2026 so as not to conflict with White House plans to announce further efforts to lower drug costs through “Most Favored Nation” pricing.

An HHS spokesperson declined to comment and referred questions to the agency’s earlier statement that it had postponed a “children’s health announcement” until next year.

The planned overhaul comes weeks after President Donald Trump ordered officials to review the childhood vaccine schedule and weigh recommending fewer shots.

“It is ridiculous!” Trump wrote earlier this month in a Truth Social post about the current US schedule. “That is why I have just signed a Presidential memorandum directing the Department of Health and Human Services to ‘FAST TRACK’ a comprehensive evaluation of Vaccine Schedules from other Countries around the World, and better align the U.S. Vaccine Schedule.”

In a post on X, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded: “Thank you, Mr. President. We’re on it.”

Denmark’s 2025 vaccine schedule, published by the European Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shows that the country vaccinates children against fewer infectious diseases than the US does.

Denmark doesn’t currently recommend immunization against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, for children; the US does. RSV is the leading cause of hospitalization in infants.

It also doesn’t recommend the rotavirus, pneumococcal, hepatitis A, meningococcal or chickenpox vaccines for children, while these vaccines are on the US schedule.

“Why would we ever want to emulate that?” asked Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “They made a financial decision. They decided to allow that degree of suffering and hospitalization. They didn’t want to spend that much money per hospitalization prevented.”

Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg, newly named acting director of the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, gave a presentation on the Danish vaccine schedule at this month’s meeting of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisers.

“I think one of the reasons Denmark may do a better job at making their vaccine recommendations is, it’s not a politicized discussion,” said Hoeg, a dual citizen of the US and Denmark. She described a multiparty system, culture of debate and strong acknowledgment of knowns and unknowns.

Hoeg noted that with fewer vaccines, there’s less exposure to aluminum, which is used as an adjuvant — an ingredient added to create a stronger immune response. It’s used in several childhood vaccines because it enables doctors to give fewer doses, which requires a smaller amount of vaccine. Despite broad evidence th

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—The Federal government now has regulatory control of Sable Offshore’s pipelines in Santa Barbara and Kern counties.
 
The pipelines are now classified as interstate, revoking the California Fire Marshal's oversight.
 
During Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Sable argued the pipelines are held to high standards.
 
“This is now one of the safest pipeline systems in the world. Subject to the most stringent standards, it managed by a team with decades of exemplary operating experience,” said Sable Offshore Vice President Steve Rusch in Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors Meeting.

The Department of Transportation says it inspected the pipeline in December and ultimately agreed with Sable's contention that it is an interstate pipeline, partly because the pipeline originates on the outer continental shelf.
 
This change in oversight comes after the State Fire Marshal told Sable in October it had issues with its pipeline repairs.
 
“This equipment has been dormant and idle for for ten years since the last big oil spill. So, that may be why this is all happening, right now, right before the end of the year. Because, this a new requirement for a permit is, is, starts on January 1st,” said Environmental Defense Center Executive Director Alex Katz.
 
The Environmental Defense Center says that even if the Federal Government allows Sable to restart the pipeline, it would be illegal without getting other necessary approvals.
 
“Federal law requires that they conduct an environmental review first and that there's a public process, including public comments, so people can weigh in. And obviously that hasn't happened yet. They have not, they don't have an easement from state parks,” said Katz.
 
With court battles and regulatory challenges threatening the pipeline re-start, Sable had started to pursue an offshore vessel to transport oil.

We asked Sable if that was still their focus.

A spokesperson simply told us they want to underscore that the Federal government is calling it an active pipeline.
 

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