The American Academy of Pediatrics on Monday issued its updated childhood and adolescent immunization schedule for 2026 that differs significantly from the changes made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The AAP, which represents about 67,000 pediatricians, recommends routine immunizations for 18 different diseases, including those removed from the CDC's schedule.
"At this time, the AAP no longer endorses the recommended childhood and adolescent immunization schedule from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," Dr. Sean O'Leary, chair of the AAP's Committee on Infectious Diseases, said in a policy statement published in the journal "Pediatrics."
The CDC earlier this month changed its recommendations to just 11 diseases.
What's no longer broadly recommended is protection against influenza, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis, or RSV. Instead, protections against those diseases are only recommended for certain groups deemed high-risk or when doctors recommend them in what's called "shared decision-making."
Among those left on the list of recommendations are vaccines against measles, whooping cough, polio, tetanus, chickenpox, and human papillomavirus.
The guidance reduces the number of recommended vaccine doses against HPV from two or three shots depending on age to one for most children.
Trump administration officials said the overhaul, a move long sought by Department of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., won't result in families who want the vaccines losing access to them and said insurance will continue to pay.
But medical experts said the decision creates confusion for parents and could increase preventable diseases.
The AAP's recommendations are endorsed 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.
Medical experts criticized the move.
"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 of the Vaccine Integrity Project, based at the University of Minnesota.
"You can't just copy and paste public health, and that's what they seem to be doing here," said O'Leary.
"Literally, children's health and children's lives are at stake."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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