- Department of Public Health
- Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (MCAAP)
Boston — As families across the Commonwealth prepare for the new school year, the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (MCAAP) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) have an urgent message for parents and caregivers: get your children vaccinated.
This guidance comes as new national data show that childhood vaccination rates continue to decline across the country. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccination coverage among kindergarteners fell for every vaccine tracked during the 2025-26 school year, while exemptions from one or more vaccine requirements rose to a record 4.2%. The consequences of this decline are playing out in real time, as the nation is now experiencing its highest number of measles cases in more than 35 years, a bleak reminder of how quickly preventable diseases can return when vaccination rates slip.
While Massachusetts has historically maintained some of the highest pediatric vaccination rates in the country, rates are declining in some school districts and previously rare requests for exemptions from vaccination requirements are becoming more common. Massachusetts is seeing an increase in nonmedical exemptions, a worrisome trend that we are watching closely. Protecting the progress that Massachusetts has achieved requires ongoing attention from families, schools, healthcare providers, and community partners all working together to keep children safe and healthy.
MCAAP and DPH continue to recommend the American Academy of Pediatrics’ 2026 Recommended Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule. This guidance is based on decades of scientific evidence and protects children against measles, mumps, rubella, polio, pertussis, hepatitis B, chickenpox, and other serious vaccine-preventable diseases.
MCAAP and DPH do not support the proposed restructuring of the childhood immunization schedule as outlined in an executive order signed August 10, 2026, by President Trump. The order calls for reducing the recommended childhood immunization schedule from 17 vaccines to 11, splitting the combined MMR shot into three separate injections, and directing the Department of Justice to challenge state laws that protect school vaccination requirements. This sweeping rewrite of federal guidance is inconsistent with scientific evidence about the safety, effectiveness, and timing of the childhood immunization schedule that has protected children for decades.
Soon after the executive order was signed, MCAAP issued a press release strongly opposing the action, calling the restructured schedule “confusing,” “reckless,” and “dangerous.”
Governor Maura Healey also immediately issued a statement reminding residents that the state had already taken action to protect access to vaccines based on trusted medical experts and reaffirming that in Massachusetts “childhood vaccine recommendations are not changing, and we will continue to make sure families can get the vaccines they need to keep their children healthy and safe.”
Vaccine requirements for Massachusetts schools are set by state law and DPH regulation – not by the federal government or executive orders. Nothing about this recent executive order changes what vaccinations children need to enroll in Massachusetts schools this fall.
A child’s pediatrician remains the best and most reliable source of information about vaccines. Pediatricians know a child’s health history, understand the evidence behind vaccine recommendations, and can answer questions, address concerns, and help make informed decisions grounded in a child’s individual needs.
Vaccination should be part of the back-to-school checklist. The start of the school year offers an ideal time to review a child’s health records and catch up on any vaccines that may have been missed.
Vaccines are one of the most powerful public health achievements in history, saving hundreds of millions of lives worldwide. Here in Massachusetts, that same life-saving power protects children, their classmates, and their communities – and continues the progress we have worked so hard to achieve.
Robbie Goldstein, MD, PhD
Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Public Health
David A. Lyczkowski, MD
President, Massachusetts Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics