Press Release  Governor Healey Announces Evidence-Based Childhood Immunization Schedule, Aligning with American Academy of Pediatrics

Boston — Governor Maura Healey is announcing that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health has issued evidence-based childhood immunization recommendations. The state continues to recommend the full routine pediatric vaccination schedule endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), rather than adopt the recent changes issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Under the direction of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC significantly reduced the number of recommended routine childhood vaccines. This new schedule announced by Secretary Kennedy does not follow CDC’s established expert-driven process and has generated widespread concern among pediatricians, public health leaders, and families. Because Governor Healey signed legislation last year granting DPH the authority to set independent vaccine standards, regardless of federal recommendations, DPH was able to issue their own science-based recommendations. This action ensures that Massachusetts will continue to recommend and provide access to all routine childhood immunizations that have protected children for decades.

“No matter what happens in Washington, in Massachusetts we make public health decisions based on evidence and what will best protect our children and families,” said Governor Maura Healey. “Secretary Kennedy’s rollback of long-standing federal vaccine recommendations creates confusion for parents and providers and erodes trust. Our message to families is simple: we will continue to stand behind science and preserve access to the vaccines children need to stay healthy.”

“The strength of public health depends on trust – trust that guidance is clear, consistent and grounded in science,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “When that clarity is undermined at the federal level, states have a responsibility to lead. Massachusetts is choosing to follow pediatric experts and maintain vaccine recommendations that protect children and communities.”

For decades, the U.S. childhood immunization schedule has been shaped by rigorous scientific review, an evaluation of population-level disease risk, and clinical expertise. Pediatricians, through the AAP, have played a central role in vaccine guidance for nearly a century, helping to dramatically reduce or eliminate once-devastating diseases. The AAP has long been a trusted and essential partner in this process.

On January 5, 2026, the Acting Director of CDC signed a decision memorandum significantly reducing the number of vaccines routinely recommended for all U.S. children. Several long-standing childhood vaccines – including those protecting against hepatitis A and B, influenza, rotavirus, COVID-19, meningococcal disease, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) – were removed from the “routine” recommendations category and shifted to categories that either recommended them only for those children at “high-risk” or only when “shared clinical decision-making” between provider and parent decides the vaccine would be in the child’s best interest.

“The decision to change CDC’s childhood immunization schedule is reckless and deeply dangerous,” said Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, MD, PhD. “It replaces decades of transparent, evidence-based guidance with uncertainty. At a time when we are seeing measles outbreaks across the country, a resurgence of whooping cough, and a severe respiratory virus season – including pediatric deaths from diseases that are preventable – this action puts families in an impossible position and places children and communities at risk.”

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has issued guidance to health care providers and community stakeholders across the state, recommending that clinicians use the AAP immunization schedule as the primary reference for routine pediatric vaccination. Clinicians should continue to follow all state immunization requirements, including school and camp entry requirements, and they should report administered vaccines to the Massachusetts Immunization Information System.

Massachusetts is a member the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, a bipartisan, multi-state coalition of state and city health departments that coordinates on vaccine guidance and other public health matters. The Collaborative – like a similar alliance of West Coast states and other states across the nation – is recommending the AAP immunization schedule.  

“The science is clear,” said Commissioner Goldstein. “Vaccines remain one of the most effective tools we have to prevent serious illness and save lives. In Massachusetts, we will continue to lead with integrity, transparency, and an unshakeable commitment to protecting children’s health and well-being,”

DPH will continue to monitor national immunization policy developments and provide additional guidance as needed. 

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