CDC vs. AAP in 2026: why the schedules differ

What is the short version?

In January 2026 the CDC narrowed which childhood vaccines it universally recommends, while the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) kept recommending them routinely. On March 16, 2026 a federal court stayed the CDC change, and as of October 12, 2026 that stay remains in place while the government's appeal is pending. The disagreement affects which vaccines are labeled universal, not the dose timing, intervals or catch-up rules.

What did the CDC change in January 2026?

In January 2026, the CDC narrowed its universal childhood schedule, moving several vaccines out of the blanket “recommended for every child” column and into “shared clinical decision-making” (SCDM). Under SCDM, a vaccine is still available and may be recommended, but it's framed as a case-by-case conversation between family and clinician rather than a default for all children.

According to the Congressional Research Service, the changes were:

• Rotavirus and influenza (flu): moved to shared clinical decision-making.
• Hepatitis A, meningococcal (MenACWY) and RSV: recommended for high-risk children, with shared decision-making for everyone else. (For RSV, the CRS notes the substance of the recommendation didn't change.)
• Hepatitis B: the series stayed recommended, but the birth dose became an individual decision for babies whose mothers test negative for hepatitis B (a December 2025 ACIP vote). For babies of mothers who are hepatitis B-positive or whose status is unknown, see the birth-dose box.
• COVID-19: shared clinical decision-making (a September 2025 ACIP vote).

The core vaccines — DTaP, polio (IPV), Hib, pneumococcal (PCV), MMR, varicella and the hepatitis B series — remained recommended for every child under both schedules.

What did the AAP do?

The American Academy of Pediatrics kept the broader schedule. It continues to recommend the hepatitis B birth dose, hepatitis A, flu, and rotavirus routinely for all healthy children, alongside the core vaccines, and recommends COVID-19 vaccination for all children 6 to 23 months old. In other words, the AAP's 2026 schedule looks like the long-standing one parents are used to.

What is the court stay in AAP v. Kennedy?

On March 16, 2026, a federal court stayed the CDC change in a case commonly referred to as AAP v. Kennedy. The court also stayed the appointments of 13 ACIP members and their 2025 votes (including the hepatitis B birth-dose and COVID-19 votes), reverting the schedule to the version in effect in May 2025. So even though two different recommendations had been published, the broader one is the one the court left standing — which is also why this site defaults to the broader (AAP) set of pre-selected vaccines.

What has happened since the stay?

• April 29, 2026: the federal government appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. The appeal (No. 26-1503) was reportedly argued in early October 2026; as of October 12, 2026 we found no decision, so the appeal is pending and the stay remains in place.
• May 19, 2026: HHS filed notice re-establishing the ACIP committee.
• May 29, 2026: Executive Order 14407 directed the CDC and ACIP to review and update the childhood schedule “to the extent permissible by law.”

This is a developing legal and policy situation. The exact status can change as the case moves, so treat the published recommendations and the court's posture as a snapshot and confirm current guidance with your child's healthcare practitioner.

How do the two schedules compare vaccine by vaccine?

The table follows the vaccines this tool covers. The “CDC 2026 (stayed)” column is the January 2026 CDC schedule that the court stay has paused; the pre-2026 schedule remains in effect.

Hepatitis B is recommended under both, but the CDC's 2026 schedule makes the birth dose an individual decision for infants of hepatitis B-negative mothers. COVID-19 is left out of the table: the AAP recommends it for children 6 to 23 months and the CDC recommends it through shared clinical decision-making. Meningococcal ACWY and RSV are part of the dispute but are not covered by this tool.

What does this mean for a vaccine plan?

Practically, the disagreement only affects which vaccines are pre-selected as universal — not the dose mechanics, intervals, or catch-up rules, which are unchanged. In our scheduler you can choose either baseline as a starting point, then include or exclude any individual vaccine yourself. The three disputed vaccines (hepatitis A, flu, rotavirus) are the ones that switch on or off when you toggle between the AAP and CDC baselines. COVID-19 is never pre-selected under either — it's always your choice to add.

For how delaying interacts with each of these, see which vaccines can be delayed — and note that rotavirus, regardless of which schedule you follow, can't be delayed because of its hard age cutoffs.