What to Know About Changes to Federal Vaccine Recommendations as of March 2026

Public health professionals: As of March 16, all changes to federal vaccine recommendations made between June 2025 and March 2026 have been put on hold. Please check the changes that are currently on hold to ensure you are sharing timely, accurate information about the federal vaccine recommendations.

From June 2025 through March 2026, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) made several decisions about vaccine guidance, despite a lack of evidence for these changes. Prominent medical organizations raised concerns about how these decisions were made, and in March 2026, a federal judge ordered that any changes to vaccine guidance between June 2025 and March 2026 be put on hold until further review.

This is an evolving situation and may not be settled for some time. Until the courts make a formal decision, use the following messaging to communicate about the federal order with your communities.

Understanding What Vaccine Schedule to Follow for Routine Childhood Vaccinations

The 2026 American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) immunization schedule remains the most current and accurate schedule for routine childhood vaccinations. AAP is an organization of 67,000 pediatricians that has been making vaccine recommendations for over 90 years.

This is an evolving situation, but what is clear is that the federal judge’s decision puts the following changes on hold:

The removal of thimerosal from flu vaccines, despite no scientific evidence that thimerosal is harmful or causes autism.
The recommendation that parents who test negative for Hep B engage in shared clinical decision-making before their baby receives the Hep B vaccine.
The recommendation to not use the measles-mumps-rubella-varicella (MMRV) vaccine for a child’s first dose in the MMRV or measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine series.
The recommendation to use shared clinical decision-making for the 2025-26 COVID-19 vaccine and birth dose of the Hep B vaccine.