The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), recently updated the childhood vaccination schedule. In a new insight, Director of Health Care Policy Michael Baker highlights the key changes.

Key points:

• The change was taken pursuant to a presidential memorandum directing HHS and CDC to review “best practices” among peer countries for “core” childhood vaccine recommendations and to update the U.S. schedule if those practices were determined to be “superior,” while “preserving access” to vaccines currently available.
• The revised schedule distinguishes: (1) immunizations recommended for all children, (2) immunizations recommended for certain high-risk groups or populations, and (3) immunizations based on shared clinical decision-making.
• The administration’s published rationale for updating the children’s vaccination schedule is framed as (1) international benchmarking and (2) trust and adherence considerations.

Read the analysis.