Overview

• CDC updated adult and child schedules to replace universal COVID-19 booster advice with shared clinical decision-making with providers.
• Children under 4 are now advised to receive varicella as a separate shot rather than the MMRV combination, citing a small increase in febrile seizure risk with the combo as a first dose.
• Jim O’Neill approved the changes and said “Informed consent is back,” as the agency published the revised schedules following votes by the reconstituted ACIP.
• Major medical societies, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, continue to recommend COVID-19 vaccination for children and high‑risk groups.
• O’Neill urged manufacturers to develop separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccines, but Merck and outside experts said there is no evidence for a benefit and noted no monovalent M, M, or R shots are licensed in the U.S.