What parents need to know about the overhauled childhood vaccine schedule

By Jen Christensen, CNN

(CNN) — After the Trump administration announced sweeping changes to the US childhood vaccine schedule this week, parents and pediatricians are trying to make sense of what’s driving the change and how it will affect families.

Here’s what’s known so far:

How is the updated childhood vaccine schedule different?

The US Department of Health and Human Services is changing the childhood vaccine schedule — a set of recommendations from the federal government about what immunizations children should get and when — to scale back the number of vaccines broadly recommended for children.

These are recommendations, not mandates, but the schedule is typically used to guide which vaccines states require for day care or public school, as well as which vaccines are covered by insurance.

The new schedule recommends that healthy children get 11 vaccines — fewer than were previously recommended broadly.

Vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella, polio, chickenpox, HPV and others continue to be broadly recommended. But there are narrower recommendations for vaccination against meningococcal disease, hepatitis B and hepatitis A to children who are at higher risk for infections.

They recommend that choices on vaccinations against flu, Covid-19 and rotavirus be based on “shared clinical decision-making,” which means people who want one must consult with a health care provider first.

Will insurance still cover children’s vaccines?

HHS says insurers will still have to cover all vaccines recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of December 31, 2025, without cost-sharing. Parents may incur additional costs if they have to speak to a health care provider first.

Can children be vaccinated according to previous CDC schedules?

The vaccine schedule is a set of recommendations from federal officials. It doesn’t make kids get certain shots, nor does it forbid them from getting others. So parents should technically be able to get their children vaccinated according to the previous schedule.

Experts say it’s especially important now to have a good conversation with the child’s pediatrician about what shots they suggest.

“Parents should trust their pediatrician, trust the professional societies like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians. But for now, unfortunately, we have to ignore everything about vaccines that is coming from our federal government,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the American Association of Pediatrics’ Committee on Infectious Diseases.

The AAP says it will continue to publish its own Recommended Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule, which is much broader than the government’s shortened list. It includes a yearly flu shot and updated Covid-19 vaccinations.

What will change when I take my child to the doctor?

O’Leary, who’s also a pediatrician in Colorado, thinks things shouldn’t change too much here. Most pediatricians will continue to follow the broader AAP schedule, he says, but adding so many vaccines to the “shared decision-making” category has created some confusion among clinicians.

Some medical practices may take additional steps such as having parents sign documents that say they acknowledge the shots are now in a different category. It may also be a little harder to find some of those vaccines.

In previous years, when a handful of shots fell into the “shared decision-making” category, medical offices didn’t always keep those in stock, O’Leary said. “But this move by the government is unprecedented, so it’s hard to predict what will happen.”

When there are tiers of recommendations, “it suggests that some vaccines are more important than others,” he said. “So I wouldn’t be surprised if this decreases access to some vaccines.”

Why is the vaccine schedule changing?

The new schedule wasn’t driven by any new evidence on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. In December, President Donald Trump ordered HHS to review the schedule along with those of other developed nations.

HHS says that reducing the number of vaccines for children gives parents more “flexibility and choice, with less coercion.” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has been an outspoken vaccine skeptic for years, also said the change to the schedule “protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health.”

HHS leaders said they spoke with officials in several other wealthy countries, including Germany, Denmark and Japan, in addition to experts at the CDC, and found that the US recommends several more vaccines than some other nations.

Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg, acting director of the US Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, gave a presentation to the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee about the Danish vaccine schedule last month. Hoeg, a dual citizen of the US and Denmark, noted that with fewer vaccines, there’s less exposure to aluminum, which is used as an ingredient to create a stronger immune response so doctors can give kids fewer doses. Despite broad evidence that using such adjuvants are safe, Kennedy has argued that aluminum in vaccines is linked to allergies and other health problems.

However, Danish vaccine experts said Denmark is a poor blueprint for US vaccine policy because it has a different health care system, including more accessible prenatal and childhood care.

Is there debate or disagreement about the vaccine schedule?

Trump said on Truth Social on Monday that the new schedule is rooted in science “widely agreed upon by Scientists and Experts all over the World,” but many doctors and public health officials immediately spoke out against the change.

The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes the changes to the childhood vaccine schedule, with President Dr. Andrew Racine calling them “dangerous and unnecessary.”

“The longstanding, evidence-based approach that has guided the U.S. immunization review and recommendation process remains the best way to keep children healthy and protect against health complications and hospitalizations,” Racine said in a statement.

“Today’s decision, which was based on a brief review of other countries’ practices, upends this deliberate scientific process,” he added.

Dr. Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, trustee of the American Medical Association said that organization is “deeply concerned” about the changes.

“The scientific evidence remains unchanged, and the AMA supports continued access to childhood immunizations recommended by national medical specialty societies,” she said in a statement. “Changes of this magnitude require careful review, expert and public input, and clear scientific justification. That level of rigor and transparency was not part of this decision. When longstanding recommendations are altered without a robust, evidence-based process, it undermines public trust and puts children at unnecessary risk of preventable disease.”

The Infectious Diseases Society of America called the changes “reckless” and characterized the decision as an “assault on the national vaccine infrastructure that has saved millions of lives.”

“Upending long-standing vaccine recommendations without transparent public review and engagement with external experts will undermine confidence in vaccines with the likely outcome of decreasing vaccination rates and increasing disease,” President Dr. Ronald Nahass said in a statement. “Making these changes amid ongoing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases shows a disregard for the real confusion families already face.

“It is irresponsible to haphazardly change vaccine recommendations without a solid scientific basis and transparent process. The commitment the U.S. has made to protecting children from vaccine-preventable illness and death must remain a top priority,” he added.

Dr. Mandy Cohen, former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the “shift in vaccine recommendations from HHS adds confusion and unnecessary obstacles for families who want their kids protected from serious illness. I am saddened to see our country take a step backwards in its efforts to protect the health of children and families.”

Could more change be coming?

In years past, changes to the vaccine schedule would happen after the CDC’s committee of independent advisers weighed whether to update the schedule based on the latest scientific evidence and CDC leadership finalized recommendations and schedules.

Under Kennedy, there have already been changes to recommendations for some vaccines, including Covid-19, hepatitis B and the combination measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox vaccine.

Last year, Kennedy fired all the members of CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and replaced them with his own picks, many of whom share his vaccine skepticism. He also fired the CDC director, who typically signs off on that agency’s vaccine recommendations. The new committee has said it will continue reassess even long-established vaccine data.

Future HHS leaders could always make a decision to change the vaccine schedule back, according to Dorit Reiss, a professor of law and the James Edgar Hervey Chair in Litigation at UC Law San Francisco, who studies laws around vaccines.

Reiss said in an email to CNN that the new changes have “set a precedent that, unless it’s challenged in courts, can be reversed by the next administration.”

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.