September 23, 2025
Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat
Following new vaccine guidelines from the CDC and FDA, Gov. Josh Shapiro is urging Pennsylvania residents to follow the recommendations from several medical organizations instead.
Pennsylvanians should follow vaccine recommendations issued by medical organizations on a state-sanctioned list rather than adhering to guidance from the federal government, Gov. Josh Shapiro advised Monday.
"While the federal government sows confusion, here in Pennsylvania, we are providing clear, evidence-based guidance to ensure Pennsylvanians and their doctors have trusted sources of information," Shapiro said in a statement. "Health care decisions should be up to you and your doctor — and my Administration will continue to protect Pennsylvanians' personal freedoms and parental rights."
Shapiro endorsed the immunization schedules of medical organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. These groups recommend that children receive all standard childhood vaccines against hepatitis, measles, polio, whooping cough and other illnesses; that pregnant women get immunized against several diseases, including COVID-19 and flu; and that adults stay up-to-date with all recommended vaccines including COVID and flu.
Shapiro's advice came after an advisory panel for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention voted last week to abandon its previous recommendation that anyone 6 months and older receive an annual COVID-19 shot. Instead, it voted to recommend limiting the shots to people 65 and older and those with underlying health conditions — guidance adopted by the Food and Drug Administration over the summer.
The panel also voted against recommending the combined measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox vaccine until after age 4, because of a small risk of febrile seizures. But due to that risk, the CDC already recommends children receive the chicken pox vaccine separately from the combined shot for measles, mumps and rubella.
A proposal to recommend that babies get a hepatitis B vaccine at 1 month rather than at birth was postponed.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine critic, fired the entire 17-member CDC advisory panel and replaced it with allies and other vaccine critics in the months leading up to last week's meeting.
Changes in federal vaccine guidelines have caused confusion about access to immunizations and whether health insurers will cover the cost of vaccines. Shapiro said Monday that private health insurers in Pennsylvania will continue to pay for all vaccines covered under the CDC panel's 2024 recommendations.
Last week, Pennsylvania also joined the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, a newly-formed coalition of states aimed at maintaining evidence-based medical practices and vaccination recommendations in the face of disrupted federal guidance.
