How ‘shared decision-making’ is being misused in vaccine policy
statnews.com • • health
Key Points:
- The Trump administration and recent federal health authorities have increasingly replaced clear vaccine recommendations for children with the term "shared clinical decision-making," creating confusion about vaccine guidance.
- Experts in shared decision-making emphasize that the concept involves clinicians providing accurate information and collaboratively making decisions with patients based on evidence and personal values, not simply deferring recommendations.
- Critics argue that using "shared decision-making" for well-established vaccines, like hepatitis B, distorts the concept and may falsely suggest the scientific evidence is equivocal, potentially undermining public trust in vaccines.
- Historically, shared decision-making was intended for medical scenarios with multiple reasonable options and no clear standard of care, unlike routine vaccinations which have clear population benefits.
- Some federal messaging and political rhetoric have shifted vaccine decisions
