Federal health officials have updated the national childhood vaccine schedule, reducing automatically recommended vaccines from 17 to 11. The remaining vaccines are now given only after parents and doctors discuss what's best fo r each child.The update follows a presidential memorandum directing the CDC and Department of Health and Human Services to review vaccine schedules in other developed nations.Experts found that the U.S. recommends more vaccines than any peer country, but does not achieve higher vaccination rates.Under the new guidance, vaccines fall into three categories."Recommended for all children" include the following: diphtheria tetanus acellular pertussis (whooping cough) Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) pneumococcal conjugate polio measles, mumps, rubella human papillomavirus (HPV) varicella (chickenpox)These vaccines protect against the most serious infectious diseases and remain universally recommended.Other vaccines are recommended for "high-risk groups" based on age, health conditions, or exposure risk. Examples include the following: respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) hepatitis A hepatitis B dengue meningococcal ACWY meningococcal BSome vaccines are now in the "shared clinical decision-making" category, given only after a discussion between parents and doctors. Among them are the following: COVID-19 vaccines rotavirus influenza meningococcal disease hepatitis A hepatitis BIve vaccinated all my children just because I thought it was wise to do because of the catastrophic effects of polio," said Andy, a local parent."At the end of the day, I like that there's less requirement from the government and more choice in the parents' hands," said Meggan Whitsitt, another parent.Children's Hospital Colorado sent the following statement to News5: "Childrens Hospital Colorado believes vaccination is one of the most effective ways to keep children healthy and to protect them from serious diseases. Childrens Hospital Colorado has historically followed the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)s schedule for childhood immunization and there are no changes to our current recommendations. We encourage families to have conversations about vaccines with their trusted primary care provider(s) and to reference factual sources such as our <a href="https://www.childrenscolorado.org/just-ask-childrens/articles/vaccines/" target="_blank" link-data="{quot;cms.site.ownerquot;:{quot;_refquot;:quot;00000169-7779-d7a7-a569-77f94cce0000quot;,quot;_typequot;:quot;ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20quot;},quot;cms.content.publishDatequot;:1767677231871,quot;cms.content.publishUserquot;:{quot;_refquot;:quot;00000181-b07a-de7e-abdd-fffe66b40000quot;,quot;_typequot;:quot;6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdccquot;},quot;cms.content.updateDatequot;:1767677231871,quot;cms.content.updateUserquot;:{quot;_refquot;:quot;00000181-b07a-de7e-abdd-fffe66b40000quot;,quot;_typequot;:quot;6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdccquot;},quot;linkquot;:{quot;targetquot;:quot;NEWquot;,quot;attributesquot;:[],quot;urlquot;:quot;https://www.childrenscolorado.org/just-ask-childrens/articles/vaccines/quot;,quot;_idquot;:quot;0000019b-91c5-d8cf-a7db-ffdfad400000quot;,quot;_typequot;:quot;ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599aquot;},quot;linkTextquot;:quot;Truth About Vaccines articlequot;,quot;_idquot;:quot;0000019b-91c5-d8cf-a7db-ffdfad400001quot;,quot;_typequot;:quot;809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288quot;}">Truth About Vaccines article</a>, <a href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank" link-data="{quot;cms.site.ownerquot;:{quot;_refquot;:quot;00000169-7779-d7a7-a569-77f94cce0000quot;,quot;_typequot;:quot;ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20quot;},quot;cms.content.publishDatequot;:1767677259817,quot;cms.content.publishUserquot;:{quot;_refquot;:quot;00000181-b07a-de7e-abdd-fffe66b40000quot;,quot;_typequot;:quot;6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdccquot;},quot;cms.content.updateDatequot;:1767677259817,quot;cms.content.updateUserquot;:{quot;_refquot;:quot;00000181-b07a-de7e-abdd-fffe66b40000quot;,quot;_typequot;:quot;6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdccquot;},quot;linkquot;:{quot;targetquot;:quot;NEWquot;,quot;attributesquot;:[],quot;urlquot;:quot;https://www.healthychildren.org/English/Pages/default.aspxquot;,quot;_idquot;:quot;0000019b-91c6-d97f-af9f-f1ef1d230000quot;,quot;_typequot;:quot;ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599aquot;},quot;linkTextquot;:quot;the AAPquot;,quot;_idquot;:quot;0000019b-91c6-d97f-af9f-f1ef1d230001quot;,quot;_typequot;:quot;809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288quot;}">the AAP</a> and <a href="https://www.immunizecolorado.org/" target="_blank" link-data="{quot;cms.site.ownerquot;:{quot;_refquot;:quot;00000169-7779-d7a7-a569-77f94cce0000quot;,quot;_typequot;:quot;ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20quot;},quot;cms.content.publishDatequot;:1767677274066,quot;cms.content.publishUserquot;:{quot;_refquot;:quot;00000181-b07a-de7e-abdd-fffe66b40000quot;,quot;_typequot;:quot;6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdccquot;},quot;cms.content.updateDatequot;:1767677274066,quot;cms.content.updateUserquot;:{quot;_refquot;:quot;00000181-b07a-de7e-abdd-fffe66b40000quot;,quot;_typequot;:quot;6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdccquot;},quot;linkquot;:{quot;targetquot;:quot;NEWquot;,quot;attributesquot;:[],quot;urlquot;:quot;https://www.immunizecolorado.org/quot;,quot;_idquot;:quot;0000019b-91c6-d61b-a3bb-f7e7844f0000quot;,quot;_typequot;:quot;ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599aquot;},quot;linkTextquot;:quot;Immunize Coloradoquot;,quot;_idquot;:quot;0000019b-91c6-d61b-a3bb-f7e7844f0001quot;,quot;_typequot;:quot;809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288quot;}">Immunize Colorado</a>.Parents are urged to plan ahead and ask questions early. Vaccines that remain universally recommended are still covered by insurance, and doctors can help families navigate shared decision-making._______Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching. ...read more read less