Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices ACIP

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was created in 1964 to advise the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how vaccines should be used. Its members, outside experts in medicine and public health, review evidence in public meetings and vote on recommendations, such as which vaccines children should receive and at what ages. Once the CDC director adopts them, they become the official immunization schedules.

ACIP recommendations carry legal weight. Under the Affordable Care Act, most private insurers must cover recommended vaccines without cost sharing, the Vaccines for Children program provides free vaccines to about half of American children based on the committee's votes, and many state school-entry requirements and pharmacist rules refer to the schedules. Medical groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics also issue their own schedules.

In June 2025 the Health and Human Services Secretary removed all 17 members, saying the panel had conflicts of interest, and appointed new members, several of whom had questioned vaccine safety. The new panel narrowed recommendations for COVID vaccines, recommended against a combined measles vaccine for young children, and dropped the universal hepatitis B birth dose, and the CDC issued a revised childhood schedule in January 2026. In March 2026 a federal court in Massachusetts stayed the new appointments, the panel's later votes, and the 2026 schedule. Supporters say the changes restore skepticism and choice, while most medical organizations say they undermine trust in vaccines.