Childhood Vaccination Standards

The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued its own childhood and adolescent immunization schedule, breaking with the CDC by rejecting its recent downgrades and continuing to recommend routine vaccination against 18 diseases — including RSV, hepatitis A and B, rotavirus, influenza and meningococcal disease — and saying it will no longer partner with CDC on a unified schedule, calling the revision dangerous and unnecessary. The AAP also reiterated a limited dengue recommendation for previously infected 9–16‑year‑olds in endemic areas amid halted U.S. distribution, while HHS defended the CDC changes as protective and aligned with international norms and front‑line pediatricians said they plan to follow the AAP and expect insurers to cover shots when parents choose them.

The American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday released its own childhood and adolescent immunization schedule that explicitly rejects the CDC’s recent decision to scale back routine vaccine recommendations, and instead continues to recommend shots against 18 diseases including RSV, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rotavirus, influenza and meningococcal disease. AAP President Andrew Racine said the CDC’s new schedule 'departs from longstanding medical evidence' and called those changes 'dangerous and unnecessary,' announcing that the academy will no longer co‑issue a unified schedule with the agency. The CDC’s January update moved several longstanding vaccines into a 'shared clinical decision‑making' category or limited them to high‑risk kids, but a front‑line pediatrician told CBS she and colleagues will 'follow the AAP recommendations' and emphasized that insurance should still cover downgraded shots such as flu and COVID‑19 when parents want them. HHS, which oversees CDC, defended its new schedule as continuing to protect children while 'aligning U.S. guidance with international norms' and promised to work with states and clinicians so families can make 'their own informed decisions,' underscoring a rare, public split between federal health authorities and the nation’s main pediatric society. The clash comes as U.S. childhood vaccination coverage has been slipping and measles has re‑emerged, and is already fueling social‑media arguments over whether CDC is caving to anti‑vaccine pressure or AAP is clinging to an overly aggressive regimen.