Vaccines News, Features & Updates
- What the CDC’s New Vaccine Schedule Means for Your Child
January 6, 2026 — Childhood vaccines are again in the headlines after the CDC on Monday narrowed its childhood vaccination schedule, reducing the number of vaccines universally recommended for healthy children from 17 to 11.
- Hepatitis B Vaccine Changes: Key Facts for Everyone
December 8, 2025 — A CDC advisory panel is no longer recommending hepatitis B vaccination for all newborns. See what health professionals have to say about when babies can still get the shot, why the age you get it matters, and whether you should see if you're protected.
- More Adults Can Now Get Moderna's RSV Shot
June 17, 2025 — The FDA has expanded the use of Moderna's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) shot to all adults, with some limits on who can get it.
- FDA OKs New Shot to Protect Babies Against RSV
June 10, 2025 — The FDA has approved clesrovimab -- sold as Enflonsia -- a new shot to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in babies during their first RSV season, which typically lasts from fall through spring.
- FDA OKs First Meningococcal Vaccine for Infants
May 30, 2025 — The FDA has approved MenQuadfi as the first-ever meningococcal vaccine for babies as young as 6 weeks old. It protects against invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) caused by meningococcal bacteria (Neisseria meningitidis) strains A, C, W, and Y.
- Traveling? Measles Is Still Out There – Stay Safe Abroad
May 29, 2025 — Experts say international travel could make the measles situation in the U.S. worse. If you’re planning a trip, there are a few simple ways to help keep you and your family safe.
- The Other Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Worrying Doctors Now
March 12, 2025 — As the measles outbreak in the U.S. spreads, experts fear that other preventable diseases, including polio, rubella, and mumps, could return. Here’s what you can do to stay safe.
- How Moms-to-Be Can Maximize the Immunity They Pass to Baby
March 6, 2025 — Getting vaccinated during pregnancy protects your newborn from severe infection during the first critical months of life. Here’s how.
- HHS Secretary RFK Jr. Urges Parents to Consider Measles Shot
March 3, 2025 — Amid a Texas measles outbreak that has reached just under 150 documented cases, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is calling on all parents to discuss measles vaccination with their children’s health care providers.
- FDA Approves 5-in-1 Vaccine Against Meningococcal Disease
February 18, 2025 — The FDA has approved Penmenvy, a new 5-in-1 shot to protect against meningococcal infections or invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) in people ages 10 to 25 years.
- Kids’ Flu Vaccination Rates Continue to Plummet This Season
December 12, 2024 — The big drop in child flu vaccination rates last year appears to not be a blip. Just 37% of kids have gotten flu shots this year, according to new CDC data.
- Kindergarten Vaccine Exemptions Soar to New High
October 3, 2024 — More children started kindergarten last year without having first received recommended vaccines for highly contagious and dangerous diseases, moving the nation even further away from vaccination rates experts say are needed for herd immunity.
- Increase in Measles Cases Tied to Drop in Vaccination Rates
February 23, 2024 — The recent growth in measles cases in the United States and the world is linked to declining vaccination rates for children, medical experts say.
- Extra Messages About HPV Shots Boost Vaccination Rates: Study
November 22, 2023 — Children whose parents received a reminder notification that their child was due for vaccination against human papillomavirus were 56% more likely to get the potentially life-saving medicine, a new study shows.
- CDC Says Child Vaccination Exemptions Hit All-Time High
November 10, 2023 — The CDC said 3% of children starting kindergarten in the 2022-2023 school year received an exemption from one of the four key vaccines—the highest exemption rate ever reported in the United States.
- New Vaccine for Meningitis Could Soon Be Available
October 26, 2023 — A new meningococcal vaccine that better protects against the rare but potentially deadly disease will soon be available.
- Many Parents Struggling to Find COVID Shots for Kids
September 26, 2023 — Doctors and the CDC recommend everyone over 6 months get the new COVID-19 vaccine as fears of complications ease.
- Babies Should Get New RSV Shot This Fall: CDC
August 4, 2023 — The CDC is recommending that all babies younger than 8 months get a shot this fall or winter to protect against respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.
- CDC Cutting Money to States for Childhood Vaccine Programs
July 6, 2023 — The CDC is cutting money for state childhood vaccination programs, according to an agency email. The cut comes from a federal immunization grant, given in the last year, that supports childhood vaccines.
- Experts Blame Lagging MMR Vaccination Rates on Discredited Study
March 6, 2023 — A discredited 1998 study that falsely proposed a link between the MMR vaccine and autism is still having a negative effect on child vaccination rates in the United States and the United Kingdom more than two decades later, medical experts say.
- Fewer Kids Being Vaccinated Against Measles, CDC Says
January 12, 2023 — For the second straight year, the percentage of schoolchildren immunized against measles fell below a critical rate necessary to prevent the virus from spreading in the community, federal health officials say.
- Why Some Groups Hesitate on Vaccination
Misinformation could lead to widening vaccine disparities in babies and toddlers. Here’s what parents need to know to protect their kids.
- Why Aren't More Teenagers Fully Vaccinated?
Too many U.S. children and teens are not getting all the vaccinations they need, a pediatric infectious disease specialist says. See the 2019 updates on vaccinations for children and teens.
- Make Shots Less Painful for Your Baby
Tips to soothe your little one and ease your stress during vaccinations.
- Is There an Alternative Vaccine Schedule?
Experts from the CDC and American Academy of Pediatrics talk about alternative vaccine schedules for infants.
- Why Whooping Cough Is Rising Despite a New Vaccine
A look at why whooping cough rates are rising despite a new vaccine.
- A Parent's Guide to Vaccines
Knowing which shots kids need and when can be confusing. Our expert clears it up.
- Are Childhood Vaccines Safe?
For parents, childhood vaccines are a source of reassurance -- protecting your child against disease naturally helps you sleep better at night -- but also anxiety about side effects and reactions.
- Amanda Peet Campaigns for Vaccines
Actress and mother Amanda Peet has learned from personal experience that immunizations are crucial.
- Should Your Child Get the HPV Vaccine?
WebMD discusses the arguments for and against HPV vaccination and explains the risks and benefits associated with it.
- Helping Kids Who Fear Vaccines
WebMD gives tips for helping a child who is afraid of getting a shot. Learn how parents can make the vaccine process go smoothly.
- Unraveling the Whooping Cough Epidemic
WebMD investigates the whooping cough outbreak in California and other states.
- How Proactive Parents Prevent Whooping Cough (Pertussis)
Whooping cough is highly contagious. If one person has pertussis, up to 90% of people in the same house will get it. Here’s what careful moms do.
- Child Vaccines: Some Parents Ill at Ease
Does the private right of parents to not vaccinate their kids trump the greater public good?
- HPV, Cervical Cancer Vaccine: 15 Facts
Here is what you need to know about Gardasil, the new vaccine designed to help prevent cervical cancer and HPV infection.
- Get an 'A' in Vaccines
Vaccines have proved so successful in eliminating their target diseases that some parents of school-aged children have gotten a bit lax about completing the complicated battery of injections.
