- The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released an updated pediatric vaccine schedule that conflicts with recently revised recommendations set by the CDC.
- The AAP’s vaccine guidance more closely aligns with the standard vaccine schedule.
- Medical experts have expressed relief at the AAP’s recommendations, which they say are the best way to prevent the spread of the disease.
- Scientists support the position that vaccine recommendations should be based on reliable scientific evidence.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) on January 27 released an updated pediatric vaccine schedule that contrasts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) controversial changes from earlier this month.
CDC decreased Six vaccines have been moved to the conditional category due to widely recommended vaccines. The AAP continues to recommend all previously scheduled vaccines.
aaron millstoneMD, MHS, is a member of the AAP Infectious Diseases Committee that drafted the new recommendations and is the pediatric director of infection prevention at the Johns Hopkins Health System.
He told Healthline that the committee’s guidance reflects the reality of health care in the United States.
“We live in the real world in America,” he said. “Our health care system is strong but imperfect, and the recommendations we make take into account some of those imperfections.”
A.A.P. Updated vaccine guidance This marks a major break in the decades-long partnership with the CDC. Here’s what you need to know:
I put it down rotavirus, COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection)and influenza vaccination It is a new category of “shared clinical decision-making” and requires physician-patient discussion rather than universal recommendations.
AAP continues to encourage all previous planned vaccines Advise pediatricians to maintain existing vaccinations.
Milstone said vaccination recommendations should be based on science and what public health experts understand about the community. He pointed out that hepatitis B is currently only recommended for high-risk infants.
“We want all mothers to have access to prenatal care during their pregnancy, but unfortunately we know that some mothers don’t have access to prenatal care during their pregnancy, some don’t get tested during their pregnancy, and some children can’t show up for some vaccinations,” Milson said.
“Recognizing that and knowing that our health care system does not have all the safety nets that other health systems have, we are making recommendations to protect our entire community.”
The AAP has been issuing vaccine recommendations since the 1930s, and the CDC began publishing schedules in 1964. Historically, these organizations have worked together to create uniform guidance.
Because of this disparity, parents and pediatricians are faced with how to navigate conflicting recommendations from two major health authorities regarding childhood immunizations.
AAP’s new schedule is in line with the August 2025 update following previous CDC guidelines.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services defended the CDC’s position.
Spokeswoman Emily Hilliard told Healthline that the new guidelines align “U.S. guidance with international norms,” as requested by President Donald Trump.
Other health systems like Denmark, which the Trump administration has repeatedly emphasized, also fewer vaccines available than the US.
but benjamin lopmanHe, an epidemiologist at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health who has studied rotavirus vaccines for more than a decade, said the changes are not based on new science.
“Over the past few months, there has been no new data on how effective these vaccines are,” he told Healthline.
“It turns out that everything on the schedule is the best way to prevent infection.”
Milstone said comparing the U.S. to countries with universal healthcare misses a key point: Because everyone has access to health care, these systems can catch what vaccines block. Such assumptions cannot be made in the United States.
Lopman said rotavirus shows why the U.S. needs more widespread vaccination than some other countries.
“This disease, if treated properly and with easy access to medical care, is not fatal and has no long-term health effects. But we know there are barriers in this country,” Lopman told Healthline.
These barriers include timely access to medical professionals and the high cost of treatment.
Before the rotavirus vaccine was added to the routine schedule in 2006, nearly all children were infected before age 5.
Lopman told Healthline that’s what he’s concerned about as a possibility. rotavirus vaccine Coverage is reduced.
“There is no way to prevent infection with this virus other than vaccination. Without vaccination, all children would be infected by their fifth birthday, and most children would probably be infected earlier. That is also true for many other vaccine-preventable viruses,” Lopman said.
Amanda FarrM.D., chief medical officer of Zalminari Pediatrics, which operates clinics in 10 states, said doctors are relieved to know their clinics will continue to follow existing AAP guidelines.
Dr. Farr told Healthline that he is evaluating the AAP’s updated schedule and believes it will be a reliable reference point for physicians.
“Standard vaccine charts assume that all vaccinations are on track within an age-appropriate time frame, which is what we hope for. But in the real world, that doesn’t always happen,” she says.
Farr said having additional details about how to understand children and how to approach specific patient populations is “invaluable” and something pediatricians use every day. While the previous CDC schedule included detailed protocols, the new schedule changes the format.
“We are no longer looking to the CDC for information, so everyone is very appreciative of the direction and initiative that the AAP has taken to fill that void.”
Jasjit SinghM.D., a pediatric infectious disease subspecialist and medical epidemiologist at Rady Children’s Health in Orange County, California, said parents should trust their pediatricians.
“Their pediatricians are really experts on this issue and know the science behind vaccines. They know why the recommendations are made and the evidence about when children are most susceptible to vaccine-preventable diseases,” she told Healthline.
Her advice to parents is to ask your pediatrician what vaccines to give your child.
Regardless of which guidelines your family follows, all vaccines will continue to be available and fully covered by insurance.
Doctors worry that competing guidelines could damage the relationship between parents and pediatricians, leading to worse outcomes.
Singh expressed concern that parents who previously trusted their pediatricians may now question whether their pediatricians made the right decisions.
The collapse of that trust is caused by parents delaying it, skip the vaccinemore children are at risk of serious complications from vaccine-preventable diseases, she said.
She pointed to
About 90% of eligible children who died were not fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.
Additionally, the childhood vaccination rate during that influenza season was 50.2%, the lowest in about 15 seasons.
“Many children are dying from vaccine-preventable diseases,” Singh said.
Millstone said doctors have always been committed to sharing decision-making with families, and that’s nothing new. What concerns him is the new guidance framework.
“What’s changing now is the wording that asks questions,” he says. “Many of the changes are causing people to doubt and fear that the advice given is not in the best interests of the child.”
He emphasized that pediatricians’ goals have not changed.
“Pediatricians are doing what is best for children and their health, and that is our goal,” he said.