(NEW YORK) — The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its immunization schedule on Monday, dropping the universal COVID-19 vaccine recommendation and recommending that toddlers receive the chickenpox shot separately from the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) shot.
Acting Director and Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill signed off on the recommendations, which were made by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) last month.
“Informed consent is back,” O’Neill said in a statement. “CDC’s 2022 blanket recommendation for perpetual COVID-19 boosters deterred health care providers from talking about the risks and benefits of vaccination for the individual patient or parent. That changes today.”
Last month, the ACIP voted to abandon its previous universal recommendation for annual COVID-19 vaccine shots for anyone aged 6 months and older, instead suggesting that Americans can get the vaccine “based on individual-based decision-making,” or a personal choice.
The panel also voted to no longer recommended children around 12 months old receive the first dose of the combined measles, mumps, rubella and varicella (MMRV) vaccine.
Instead, the committee recommended that children receive two separate shots, one for the combined MMR shot and a second shot for chickenpox. The MMRV shot will be recommended as an option for a child’s second dose, typically given at around 4 to 6 years old.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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