By Andrea Petersen

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends children be vaccinated against 18 diseases, more than the U.S. government directs after it overhauled its schedule.

The doctors group, which released its recommendations Monday, kept its guidance largely unchanged from its previous version from last year. The group said it doesn't endorse the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's childhood-vaccine schedule. The agency now recommends all children get vaccinated against 11 diseases.

The details

The AAP recommends that all children receive vaccines for hepatitis A and B, Covid-19, influenza, rotavirus and meningococcal disease, which causes meningitis and other infections. The immunizations were dropped from the CDC's schedule for all children.

"It's clear that what's coming from the federal government is not grounded in science, but rather in ideology, and so we are continuing to make our recommendations based on what's in the best interest of children," said Dr. Sean O'Leary, a pediatrician who chairs the AAP's committee on infectious diseases.

Other diseases on the AAP's recommended schedule for immunizations include chickenpox, measles and polio. The CDC also encourages vaccines against those diseases for all children.

The context

The Trump administration, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has staked out several positions on health and diet at odds with the mainstream medical community and nutrition researchers.

President Trump has warned pregnant women against taking Tylenol, saying it is a potential cause of autism. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says acetaminophen is safe to use during pregnancy. Untreated fever and pain in pregnancy can raise the risk for miscarriage and birth defects, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine says.

Earlier this month, the CDC dropped the federal government's universal recommendations for childhood vaccination against six diseases. Kennedy said the move brought the U.S. in line with other countries, while strengthening informed consent.

The AAP represents about 67,000 pediatricians in the U.S. It says vaccines are a strong and proven defense against preventable disease. Some 27 states and Washington, D.C., say they won't follow the CDC's childhood vaccine recommendations for at least some vaccines, according to KFF, a health-research nonprofit.

The AAP said its new schedule is endorsed by 12 other medical and health organizations, including the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Write to Andrea Petersen at andrea.petersen@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 26, 2026 00:01 ET (05:01 GMT)

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