AAP Releases its Recommended 2026 Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has released the Recommended Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule: United States, 2026, continuing its long-standing guidance on routine vaccination to protect against 18 infectious diseases, including RSV, hepatitis A and B, rotavirus, influenza, and meningococcal disease. The schedule, detailed in a policy statement published January 26, 2026, appears in AAP Red Book Online, the academy’s authoritative clinical resource for infectious disease prevention and treatment. To support families, a parent-friendly version of the schedule is also available on HealthyChildren.org.

Since its founding in 1930, the AAP has served as a leading authority on pediatric vaccine policy, providing evidence-based recommendations that help pediatricians safeguard the health of children and adolescents nationwide.

“The AAP will continue to provide recommendations for immunizations that are rooted in science and are in the best interest of the health of infants, children and adolescents of this country,” AAP President Andrew Racine, MD, PhD, FAAP said in a statement. “Routine childhood immunizations are an important early step in the path to lifelong health. Every step you take alongside your child on that path is because you want them to grow up healthy and as a trusted partner on that journey, your pediatrician welcomes conversations about all your child’s health care, including immunizations.”

The 2026 AAP recommendations remain largely unchanged from prior AAP guidance released in August, 2025, but they differ from a schedule recently issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The AAP formerly partnered with the CDC to create a unified set of vaccine recommendations, but recent changes to the CDC immunization schedule depart from longstanding medical evidence and no longer offer the optimal way to prevent illnesses in children. By contrast, the AAP childhood and adolescent immunization schedules continue to recommend immunizations based on the specific disease risks and health care delivery in the United States.

“AAP recommends immunizations that have been designed to teach the immune system to recognize and resist serious diseases,” Sean O’Leary, MD, MPH, FAAP, chair of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases, said in a statement. “They are carefully tested and monitored over time. The pacing and combination of vaccines are based on what we know about when your child’s immune system is ready to learn and respond best.”

The AAP recommendations protect against diseases that include:

• RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus), which is the leading cause of hospitalization for babies before their first birthday. It is a common virus that affects the lungs and airways. Immunizations for pregnant mothers and newborns provide antibodies that offer necessary protection.
• Influenza, or the flu vaccine, which is recommended for all children starting at 6 months old. This helps protect not only the child but also the community—especially during seasons when other viruses like RSV and COVID-19 are also circulating. Historically, over 80% of influenza-associated pediatric deaths have occurred in unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated children. Children younger than 5 years, especially those less than 2 years, are especially vulnerable to severe illness and hospitalizations or death due to influenza.
• Hepatitis B, a viral infection that attacks the liver and can cause both acute and chronic disease. Chronic infection over the course of a lifetime can lead to liver damage, liver failure, liver cancer, or even death. The hepatitis B vaccine has been tested extensively for safety and efficacy, and when administered within 24 hours of birth it is highly effective in preventing newborn infection.
• Measles, an extremely contagious disease whose complications can lead to pneumonia, encephalitis (swelling of the brain), deafness, intellectual disability and even death. More than 2,200 cases, including three deaths, have been reported in outbreaks over the past year, with young children most likely to be affected.
• Rotavirus, diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough (pertussis), polio, pneumococcal disease, COVID, mumps, rubella, chickenpox (varicella), meningitis and hepatitis A are other diseases that can be prevented by following the AAP recommendations for vaccines.

The AAP recommendations are based on a well-established framework for evidence evaluation, review of vaccine safety data, the epidemiology of the diseases in the United States, the impact of the diseases and how the vaccines could prevent the diseases and their complications.

Reference
American Academy of Pediatrics Issues Recommended Childhood and Adolescent Immunization Schedule for 2026. AAP press release. January 26, 2026. Accessed January 30, 2026.
https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2025/american-academy-of-pediatric-issues-recommended-childhood-and-adolescent-immunization-schedule-for-2026/