US pediatricians break with CDC on COVID-19 vaccine guidance for kids
The AAP on Tuesday said it is strongly recommending vaccinations for children ages 6 months to 2 years, and advising shots for older children if parents want them vaccinated
For the first time in three decades, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has issued vaccine recommendations that significantly diverge from US government guidance — this time on COVID-19 shots for children.
The AAP on Tuesday said it is strongly recommending vaccinations for children ages 6 months to 2 years, and advising shots for older children if parents want them vaccinated. By contrast, guidance issued under US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. does not recommend COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children of any age, though it allows shots in consultation with physicians.
"It is going to be somewhat confusing," acknowledged Dr. James Campbell, vice chair of the AAP infectious disease committee. "But our opinion is we need to make the right choices for children to protect them."
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The group emphasized that children under age 2 face the highest risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and must remain a priority for vaccination. It also recommends shots for older children with chronic lung disease or other high-risk conditions.
The Illinois-based AAP has been issuing pediatric vaccine guidance since the 1930s and has largely aligned with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) since 1995. Small differences have emerged before — such as AAP encouraging HPV shots starting at age 9, two years earlier than CDC emphasis — but Campbell said this is the first major split in 30 years.
Until this spring, the CDC recommended annual COVID-19 boosters for everyone ages 6 months and older. But in May, Kennedy announced the shots were no longer advised for healthy children and pregnant women, later dismissing the CDC's 17-member vaccine advisory panel and replacing it with a smaller group that includes vaccine skeptics.
The new panel has yet to vote on COVID-19 shot recommendations, but has already set another point of departure from the AAP: restricting flu shots to single-dose, thimerosal-free versions. The AAP, citing no evidence of harm from the preservative, continues to recommend any licensed flu vaccine appropriate for a patient.
