By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer<\/p>\n
WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 U.S. health officials made broad changes to childhood vaccine recommendations <\/a>Monday, alarming pediatricians and other medical experts who say they will sow confusion and undermine children\u2019s health.<\/p>\n The overhaul is effective immediately, meaning that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> will now recommend that all children get vaccinated against 11 diseases, down from 18 a year ago.<\/p>\n The changes come as U.S. vaccination rates have been slipping<\/a> and the share of children with exemptions has reached an all-time high, according to federal data. At the same time, rates of diseases<\/a> that can be protected against with vaccines, such as measles<\/a> and whooping cough, are rising.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what to know about the changes:<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what federal vaccine recommendations have changed<\/p>\n Once broadly recommended, the federal government now only recommends protection against these diseases for certain children at high risk or based on individual doctor advice in what\u2019s called \u201cshared decision-making.\u201d<\/p>\n Flu<\/a>Hepatitis AHepatitis BMeningococcal diseaseRotavirusRSVCOVID-19, a change made in 2025Here\u2019s what federal vaccine recommendations stayed the same<\/p>\n The following vaccines were left on the recommended-for-all list:<\/p>\n Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis or whooping cough (DTaP)PolioChickenpoxHuman papillomavirus<\/a>, or HPV. But in a surprise, the guidance reduces the number of recommended vaccine doses against HPV from two or three shots to just one.Hib, or Haemophilus influenzae type B, bacteria that despite the name isn\u2019t related to fluPCV or pneumococcal conjugate vaccineWhy were the vaccine recommendations changed?<\/p>\n The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said the overhaul was in response to a request from President Donald Trump in December. Trump asked the agency to review how peer nations approach vaccine recommendations and consider revising U.S. guidance accordingly.<\/p>\n HHS said its comparison to 20 peer nations found that the U.S. was an \u201coutlier\u201d in both the number of vaccinations and the number of doses it recommended to all children. Officials with the agency framed the change as a way to increase public trust by recommending only the most important vaccinations for children to receive.<\/p>\n However, many European countries recommend some of the vaccines the U.S. removed from its list.<\/p>\n What do doctors and pediatricians say?<\/p>\n The nation\u2019s large doctors\u2019 groups, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, say they will continue to recommend the vaccines that the Trump administration has now demoted. They said there was no new science that warranted the changes, including no signs that the former U.S. vaccine schedule harmed children.<\/p>\n Dr. Sean O\u2019Leary of the AAP said the changes could increase child illness and death from preventable disease. He voiced special concern that the U.S. would no longer recommend flu vaccine for children, just as the flu season is becoming severe, and after last winter\u2019s particularly harsh season.<\/p>\n The pediatricians\u2019 group has issued its own child vaccine recommendations. Also, states, not the federal government, have the authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren. While CDC requirements often influence those state regulations, some states have begun creating their own alliances<\/a> to counter the Trump administration\u2019s guidance on vaccines.<\/p>\n What will change for families?<\/p>\n It\u2019s not yet clear. Because of the countering recommendations from pediatricians, doctor visits may not change. However, medical specialists say when the U.S. government doesn\u2019t explicitly recommend a shot, it will raise questions among parents, leading to more difficult conversations at the doctor\u2019s office.<\/p>\n