American Academy of Pediatrics releases vaccine recommendations that break from CDC
The American Academy of Pediatrics released updated vaccination recommendations Aug. 19 that break from current recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The academy recommends that all children aged 6 through 23 months receive a COVID-19 vaccine unless they have known allergies to it or its ingredients. It also recommends a single dose of the vaccine for children aged 2 through 18 years if they are at high risk of COVID-19, are residents of long-term care facilities, have never been vaccinated against COVID-19, or live in a household with people who are high risk for the disease. It also says the vaccine should be available for other children in this age group even if they are not in these risk groups.
Conversely, the CDC says that COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 6 months to 17 years should be “based on shared clinical decision-making.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics has regularly provided vaccine recommendations and published its own vaccine schedule throughout its history, but it has not traditionally diverged from federal recommendations. However, in a news release, the academy acknowledged its recommendations differ from the recommendations of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which it said “was overhauled this year and replaced with individuals who have a history of spreading vaccine misinformation.”
The academy has served as a liaison to the advisory committee in the past, participating in meeting discussions and analyzing research in workgroups, but chose not to participate in the group’s first meeting since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed all 17 members of the committee and replaced them with seven new ones. Sean O’Leary, M.D., chair of the academy’s Committee on Infectious Diseases, said at the time that academy liaisons to the advisory committee did not participate in the June meeting “because we view it as illegitimate.”
In August, the academy was one of about 30 medical and public health organizations that were told via email they could no longer participate in the committee’s workgroups.
In addition to COVID-19, the updated recommendations from the academy cover RSV, flu and more than 10 other vaccines.
Read more: CNN
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