India, Jan. 6 -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced a major overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule on January 5, revising which immunizations are "universally recommended" for children.

The new plan, according to officials, aims to restore public confidence in the health system and bring U.S. guidelines closer to those in developed nations. The ideas the government is abandoning are really identical to those of several other wealthy nations, including those that U.S. officials consulted.

Jim O'Neill, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approved the new schedule, which reduces the number of recommended vaccinations from 17 to 11.

Certain vaccines, including those for the...