The American Academy of Pediatrics rejected the CDC’s revised immunization guidance, warning that narrowing routine vaccine recommendations could increase preventable illness among children.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
The American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday released its updated childhood and adolescent immunization schedule for 2026, formally breaking with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after the federal agency sharply reduced the number of vaccines it recommends for routine use.
The AAP, which represents roughly 67,000 pediatricians nationwide, said it will continue to recommend routine immunization against 18 diseases, including several that were removed earlier this month from the CDC’s standard schedule.
“At this time, the AAP no longer endorses the recommended childhood and adolescent immunization schedule from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases, in a policy statement published in the journal Pediatrics.
The CDC’s revised schedule, released earlier this month, narrowed routine recommendations to vaccines protecting against 11 diseases. Under the new federal guidance, vaccines for influenza, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, respiratory syncytial virus, and some forms of meningococcal disease are no longer broadly recommended for all children. Instead, the CDC advises their use only for certain high-risk groups or through physician-led “shared decision-making” with families.
Vaccines that remain on the CDC’s routine list include those protecting against measles, whooping cough, polio, tetanus, chickenpox, and human papillomavirus. The updated guidance also reduces the number of recommended HPV doses for most children to a single shot, down from two or three depending on age.
Trump administration officials said the CDC overhaul, a move long advocated by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., would not restrict access for families who want the vaccines. They said the shots would remain available and covered by insurance.
Medical groups, however, said the split guidance risks confusing parents and weakening disease prevention. The AAP said its recommendations are supported by 12 major medical and healthcare organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Medical Association.
Public health experts criticized the CDC’s approach and the lack of a broader review process.
“Abandoning recommendations for vaccines that prevent influenza, hepatitis, and rotavirus and changing the recommendation for HPV without a public process to weigh the risks and benefits will lead to more hospitalizations and preventable deaths among American children,” said Michael Osterholm, director of the Vaccine Integrity Project at the University of Minnesota.
O’Leary said the federal changes reflect a broader concern about how public health guidance is being developed.
“You can’t just copy and paste public health, and that’s what they seem to be doing here,” he said. “Literally, children’s health and children’s lives are at stake.”
With two competing immunization schedules now in place, pediatricians and public health officials said parents may face uncertainty as they make decisions about childhood vaccinations heading into 2026.
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