On Jan. 26, 2026, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released its 2026 immunization schedule and continues to recommend vaccines to protect against 18 diseases which differs significantly from a federal schedule that underwent an arbitrary overhaul. The AAP has been publishing its guidance on vaccines for decades. The updated AAP schedule, which is thoroughly researched and rooted in science, contains no changes to AAP’s recommendations for routine vaccines.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) schedule released in early January removed routine recommendations for hepatitis A and B, COVID-19, rotavirus, flu and meningococcal disease and downgrades them to immunizations recommended for high-risk groups and/or shared clinical decision-making. It also moved respiratory syncytial virus immunization to the high-risk group, although it still recommends it for all infants under 8 months whose mother did not get vaccinated during pregnancy.

Health officials did not cite new data justifying the changes but instead appear to have modeled the schedule largely after Denmark’s, which has a significantly different population and health care system. They also did not follow the standard process of consulting the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) during a public meeting.

AAP leaders called the CDC’s removal of universal recommendations “dangerous and unnecessary” and is challenging the changes in court. The AAP’s 2026 schedule keeps the routine recommendations intact.In other differences, the AAP recommends two doses of HPV vaccine starting at ages 9-12 years while the CDC recommends one dose at 11-12 years.

Federal officials have said insurance coverage and liability protection will continue for all vaccines on the CDC schedule even if they no longer are considered routine. AHIP, a trade association representing the health insurance industry, also has said its member organizations would cover all immunizations that were recommended by the ACIP as of Sept. 1, 2025, without cost-sharing through the end of 2026.

The AAP has a long history of providing evidence-based guidance on vaccines and worked with the CDC and others in recent decades to harmonize recommendations when possible. Last August, it published an independent schedule in the wake of federal officials undermining the rigorous scientific process for making recommendations.

The AAP’s 2026 schedule has been endorsed by 12 medical and health organizations representing more than 1 million physicians, pharmacists and other pediatric health care professionals. They include the American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Nurse Midwives, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Medical Association, American Pharmacists Association, Council of Medical Specialty Societies, Infectious Diseases Society of America, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, National Medical Association, Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, Pediatric Pharmacy Association and Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine.