Prisma Health officials held a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon to discuss changes to national childhood vaccine guidelines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Monday that it would officially be changing its recommendations regarding childhood vaccines. Under the new recommendations, the childhood immunization schedule is divided into three distinct categories: immunizations recommended for all children, immunizations recommended for certain high-risk populations and immunizations based on shared decision making.
The new immunization schedule now recommends that all children receive vaccines against 10 diseases, a decrease from the prior 17 required immunizations. Immunizations based on shared decision making cover six diseases — rotavirus, COVID-19, influenza, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A and hepatitis B. According to the CDC, immunizations in this category should be based on relevant risk factors for the individual child.
Robin Lacroix, a Prisma Health Children’s Hospital physician specializing in pediatric infectious disease, says that conversations on risk factors are already a part of vaccine education in pediatric settings. Pediatricians and physicians working with children should consult the parents on certain risk factors that may mean their child should receive an immunization, such as if the family is traveling to an area with a known outbreak.
“The approach to childhood immunizations has been an evolution for a number of years,” Lacroix said. “The conversations about vaccines have evolved over time with families, and I think that this simply just organized it into ways that allow us to discuss with families.”
According to the CDC, all immunizations recommended as of Dec. 31, 2025, will continue to be fully covered by Affordable Care Act insurance plans and federal insurance programs, including Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the Vaccines for Children program.
The conversation around vaccinations remains increasingly important in the Upstate, where an ongoing measles outbreak has grown to over 200 affected. Measles is still one of the diseases for which all children are recommended to get vaccinated.
“I think the concern, the fear and the reality of what we are seeing now is that we are seeing these diseases reemerge,” Lacroix said. “We are seeing pertussis. We are seeing babies with whooping cough requiring hospitalization. We are seeing measles cases. We are seeing more pneumonia and meningitis, which all could have been vaccine-preventable.”
She continued: “As history unfolds, we know vaccines have been one of the most impactful health initiatives ever to become available. We know they are safe; we know that they are effective. They're monitored and continue to show us good results at preventing childhood illnesses that children were lost to in years past.
For more information on the Upstate measles outbreak, visit the South Carolina Department of Public Health’s website. For a closer look at the updated childhood immunization schedule, visit the Department of Health and Human Services’ website.
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