June 11, 2026
CDC/UNSPLASH.COM
The leading OB/GYN group in the United States has published a vaccine schedule for pregnant women that breaks with changes made by the CDC. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists advises pregnant women to get COVID-19 and flu shots.
A national organization of health care providers has released a vaccine schedule for pregnant women that counters federal guidance.
The statement Wednesday from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — endorsed by 13 other medical groups — reinforces the group's long-held stance that pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women should receive COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza and tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (Tdap) vaccines.
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ACOG's statement counters the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which last year removed its recommendation that pregnant women and children get vaccinated against COVID-19. The CDC's changes to its vaccine schedule for pregnant women and children, made at the direction of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., also spurred ACOG to pull out of the CDC's advisory committee on vaccines last year.
"Changing national recommendations coupled with rampant vaccine misinformation are resulting in confusion for both patients and health care professionals," ACOG President Dr. Camille Clare said. "It is incredibly important for the public to have access to reliable, evidence-based information on maternal immunizations from a trusted source. ACOG is proud to be that source."
The CDC recommends pregnant women receive only the Tdap and RSV vaccines. This differs from prior CDC recommendations that aligned with ACOG's current guidance.
"Maternal immunization is one of the most effective ways we can protect both pregnant patients and babies during some of the most vulnerable stages of life," said Dr. Margot Savoy, chief medical officer of the American Academy of Family Physicians. "Vaccines recommended during pregnancy help safeguard pregnant patients from serious illness while also providing critical early protection to newborns before they are old enough to be vaccinated themselves.
ACOG's 2026 maternal immunization schedule says pregnant people should:
• Get flu and COVID vaccines in the fall if possible, or any other time of year.
• Get a Tdap shot once during each pregnancy, ideally between 27 and 36 weeks of gestation, or at any other point.
• Get the RSV vaccine during the first pregnancy between 32 and 36 weeks from September through January in most parts of the United States. People who have had the RSV vaccine during a previous pregnancy do not need it again, but babies born in subsequent pregnancies should get a monoclonal antibody.
