(CNN) 鈥 The American Academy of Pediatrics released its for vaccines on Tuesday, including Covid-19 shots for infants and young children 鈥 a break from the current US for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.
鈥淚t differs from recent recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the CDC, which was overhauled this year and replaced with individuals who have a history of spreading vaccine misinformation,鈥 the AAP said in a news release.
Current for the Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 6 months to 17 years should be 鈥渂ased on shared clinical decision-making,鈥 the agency says.
The AAP recommendations are more explicit. It says that all children ages 6 through 23 months should receive a Covid-19 vaccine unless they have known allergies to the vaccine or its ingredients. It also recommends a single dose of the vaccine for children ages 2 through 18 years if they are at high risk of Covid-19, residents of long-term care facilities, have never been vaccinated against Covid-19, or live in a household with people who are high risk for Covid-19. It also says that the vaccine should be available for this age group even if they are not in these risk groups.
AAP has provided vaccine recommendations and published its own vaccine schedule throughout its nearly century-long history. But it has not traditionally diverged from federal recommendations.
Other groups 鈥 including the , a group of outside public health experts 鈥 have also started the process of making independent vaccination recommendations out of concern for vaccine misinformation and access under current federal health leadership.
Tension between AAP and those driving federal health policy has been running high for months, particularly around changes to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP.
AAP has long been a liaison to ACIP, participating in meeting discussions and analyzing research in workgroups behind the scenes. But AAP chose not to participate in the ACIP meeting in June 鈥 the first since health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of the expert panel, replacing them with seven new ones.
Dr. Sean O鈥橪eary, chair of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases, that AAP liaisons to ACIP did not participate in the meeting 鈥渂ecause we view it as illegitimate.鈥
鈥淲hat we heard in this meeting was really a false narrative that the current vaccine policies are flawed and that they need fixing,鈥 he said.
In August, AMA was one of roughly 30 medical and public health organizations that were from their roles as ACIP liaisons and told by email that they could no longer participate in the committee鈥檚 crucial workgroups. The email called the liaison members 鈥渟pecial interest groups鈥 that are 鈥渆xpected to have a 鈥榖ias鈥 based on their constituency and/or population they represent.鈥
Vaccine recommendations from ACIP have statutory implications. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies are required to cover vaccines for adults if they鈥檝e been recommended by ACIP. The committee also votes on whether vaccines should be added to the federal Vaccines for Children program, which provides vaccines to children who would not otherwise be able to afford them.
In Tuesday鈥檚 news release, AAP urged insurance providers to cover the vaccines that are included in their schedule.
鈥淭he 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,鈥 AAP President Dr. Susan J. Kressly in the said in the news release. 鈥淧ediatricians know how important routine childhood immunizations are in keeping children, families and their communities healthy and thriving.鈥
The AAP also issued updated recommendations for RSV and flu vaccines, in addition to .
Other changes may make access to vaccines difficult in other ways this fall. The US Food and Drug Administration has said it may to older people and those who are at high risk for serious infection, and for Pfizer鈥檚 Covid-19 vaccine for children younger than 5 years old.
CNN鈥檚 Brenda Goodman, Sarah Owermohle and Meg Tirrell contributed to this report.
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