# First-year vaccine schedule

**Which vaccine schedule should we follow in the first year?**

Which childhood vaccines your baby gets and on what timetable in the first year. US official bodies now publish somewhat different schedules.

In short: Parents choose between 5 main approaches: Full AAP schedule on time; The federal (CDC) schedule as restored by the court, plus case-by-case extras; Spaced-out schedule; Selective; None. Evidence: guidance changing. Official guidance changed recently and is still moving — check current sources. Best settled: during pregnancy.

- Area: Newborn medical choices
- Evidence: Guidance changing
- Best settled: During pregnancy
- First published: 2026-10-03
- Last updated: 2026-10-05
- Page: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/topics/newborn-medical-choices--first-year-vaccine-schedule

## First-year vaccine schedule: what are the options?

1. **Full AAP schedule on time**: The baby gets every vaccine on the American Academy of Pediatrics schedule at the recommended ages.
2. **The federal (CDC) schedule as restored by the court, plus case-by-case extras**: The baby follows the federal schedule, and you decide on any others one at a time.
3. **Spaced-out schedule**: The baby gets the vaccines but spread over more visits than recommended.
4. **Selective**: The baby gets some vaccines and not others.
5. **None**: The baby gets no vaccines.

## First-year vaccine schedule: what does the evidence say?

**Guidance changing.** Official guidance changed recently and is still moving — check current sources. (In flux)

A March 16, 2026 court order stayed the CDC's January 2026 memo (which cut routine vaccines from 17 to 11) and the reconstituted advisory committee's votes, restoring the earlier schedule; the AAP publishes its own, slightly broader schedule. The case is on appeal, with First Circuit argument set for October 6, 2026; the CDC's own schedule page still shows the pre-2026 version

Sources:

- [Georgetown CCF](https://ccf.georgetown.edu/2026/03/31/court-order-presses-pause-on-new-acip-committee-and-changes-to-childhood-vaccination-schedule/)
- [Medical Daily, Sept 2026](https://www.medicaldaily.com/aap-kennedy-vaccine-lawsuit-paused-october-6-appeal-478666)
- [CDC schedule page](https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/imz-schedules/child-adolescent-age.html)

## What else is worth knowing?

In the first year a baby is offered vaccines against a range of serious infections, usually at visits around 2, 4 and 6 months. The schedule is designed around when protection is needed and when the body responds best. Ask your child's doctor which schedule they follow and why.

## Questions to ask each other

- Which schedule is our pediatrician following and are we comfortable with it?
- What questions or worries do each of us have?
- What would we do if we disagreed, and who can we ask to help us decide?

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General information, not medical advice. Two parents can each answer this and compare: https://www.raisingyourchild.com/explore?cat=newborn-medical-choices&topic=newborn-medical-choices--first-year-vaccine-schedule