CDC Updates Childhood Immunization Schedule:
What Families Should Know

CDC Updates Childhood Immunization Schedule:
What Families Should Know

CDC Updates Childhood Immunization Schedule: What Families Should Know

In early January 2026, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced updates to the U.S. childhood immunization schedule following a Presidential Memorandum issued in December 2025. This directive asked the CDC to review the current vaccine recommendations and provide guidance aligned with international practices.

The updated schedule reduces the number of vaccines recommended for all children from 17 to 11, while some vaccines — including influenza, COVID, rotavirus, hepatitis A and B, RSV, and certain meningococcal vaccines — are now recommended through “shared clinical decision-making” with your healthcare provider.

The remaining vaccines recommended universally for all children include protection against measles, mumps, rubella, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b, pneumococcal disease, varicella (chickenpox), and a single dose of HPV vaccine.

What This Means for Families

“Shared clinical decision-making” allows parents and clinicians to individualize vaccine choices based on each child’s health history, risk factors, and lifestyle. At Active Edge, we see this as an important opportunity to approach immunizations from a holistic, functional medicine perspective. When deciding if vaccination seems right for your child, we encourage families to consider overall immune health, nutrition, stress, sleep, and environmental exposures —as well as current risk factors for that vaccine.

At Active Edge, we combine functional medicine, chiropractic adjustments, and lifestyle guidance to help your child’s body be resilient and if chosen, to respond optimally to immunizations by:

  • Immune support: Nutritional guidance, gut health, and lifestyle strategies to strengthen immunity naturally.
  • Stress and recovery: Practical ways to optimize sleep, reduce stress, and support the nervous system — all important for a healthy immune response.
  • Whole-body resilience: Helping the body stay balanced, adaptable, and strong so it can
    respond appropriately to everyday stressors.
  • Movement and alignment: Ensuring proper alignment and mobility to support circulation,
    lymphatic flow, and overall immune health.


Whether choosing to vaccinate or not, your child’s immune system can be supported holistically, helping to ensure the best outcomes. The CDC’s updated childhood immunization schedule is one of the most significant changes in years, but families don’t have to navigate it alone. Active Edge supports parents in making informed, balanced decisions, while also focusing on overall health, resilience, and long-term wellness for children.

If you have questions about the updated schedule or want guidance on supporting your child’s immune health, schedule a consultation with our team at Active Edge today.

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Feb Newsletter Vaccine

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patient asking a chiroproactor a question about the spine

Stage 3: Nourish & Refresh

At this point, you are feeling better than you ever thought you could as you are feeling energized and thriving. You have learned a lot about your body, you are moving more efficiently, you understand your body’s cues, and you have a good idea of what to do with these cues. This means you get to try new things, achieve new goals, and conquer new challenges!  As you do, we will be here as your resource, as needed, to help you nourish, boost, and refresh your health.

an Active Edge chiropractor assessing the lower spine of a patient in Columbus Ohio

Stage 2: Activate Healing

Pain is generally the last symptom to show up and the first to go away. This means that by the time you realize there is a problem, there has been a problem for a long time. Especially for chronic or recurring issues, understanding how you got to where you are is so important for getting to where you want to go. In this stage of your journey, you will resolve underlying dysfunction, remove cheats, and retrain habits. As we aid you in activating your body’s natural healing potential, we will help you regain movement, energy, and body function both inside and outside. Throughout this process, you will start to feel greater ease and inspiration as you restore communication and efficiency in your body. Together, we will constantly assess, observe, and reassess your body’s responses to boost your results.

A doctor in Active Edge explaining functional medicine to a patient in Columbus Ohio

Stage 1: Discover Root Cause

You are your own person, with your own collection of life events which brought you to where you are today. You deserve to be heard, seen, and treated as the individual you are. Your journey begins with your Discovery Evaluation. This first visit includes your exam which works to uncover the root of your issue(s), new patient diagnostics, and, of course, your first treatment. This is how we will help you begin connecting the dots and feeling better. After your first treatment, we will ask you to observe your body’s responses– good, bad, or indifferent. There is no wrong answer as this is just starting point information and direction for moving forward. In your second visit, we will review this feedback and your diagnostics to further identify potential underlying causes and compensations. We will combine everything we have learned about you, consider your goals, and together create a plan to resolve your concerns from the roots up