Routine vs. Risk-Based Vaccination

The CDC has dropped routine recommendations for six childhood vaccines, shifting decisions to parents and doctors despite decades of evidence showing the shots prevented millions of hospitalizations and tens of thousands of deaths.

By
Arthur Allen
Jackie Fortiér
January 7, 2026
8 min

Kff Health News

Top Institutions in Pediatrics

Brief introduction explaining scope and methodology.

#1

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Philadelphia, PA
Key Differentiators
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Vaccinology
- Immunology
#2

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Atlanta, GA
Key Differentiators
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
- Vaccine Policy
#3

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Baltimore, MD
Key Differentiators
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Vaccine Research
- Epidemiology
#4

Boston Children's Hospital

Boston, MA
Key Differentiators
- Pediatric Infectious Diseases
- Immunology
- Vaccine Development
#5

University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine

San Francisco, CA
Key Differentiators
- Infectious Diseases
- Vaccine Research
- Public Health