ACOG Issues Expanded Vaccine Recommendations for Pregnant People, Diverging from CDC Guidance
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) released its own maternal vaccine schedule recommending four vaccines during pregnancy—Tdap, RSV, influenza, and COVID-19—marking the first time the organization has diverged from CDC guidance. The move reflects broader tensions between medical professional organizations and the CDC under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has reduced vaccine recommendations across multiple age groups. ACOG's independent guidance aims to provide clarity to patients and healthcare providers amid recent changes to national vaccine policy.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has released a recommended vaccine schedule for pregnant people that differs from current CDC guidance, recommending four vaccines be routinely administered during pregnancy: Tdap, RSV, influenza, and COVID-19. The CDC currently recommends only Tdap and RSV vaccines for pregnant people, having withdrawn previous recommendations for influenza and COVID-19 vaccination under the leadership of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ACOG's schedule is endorsed by 13 medical societies and health organizations. The organization cited confusion resulting from "changing national recommendations coupled with rampant vaccine misinformation" as justification for issuing independent guidance. This divergence reflects a broader breakdown in relationships between medical professional organizations and the CDC, including ACOG's withdrawal from the CDC's expert advisory committee after Kennedy fired the panel's members in June 2025 and replaced them with individuals skeptical of vaccines. A federal court issued a preliminary ruling against some of Kennedy's vaccine-related actions in March.
How coverage differed
Ars Technica's framing emphasizes Kennedy's "anti-vaccine" stance and describes his actions as "meddling," using more evaluative language than STAT News and The Hill, which present the divergence more neutrally as a factual policy disagreement. STAT News and The Hill focus on the factual details of the recommendations and organizational tensions without characterizing Kennedy's motivations as explicitly.
What different sources said
- STAT NewsCenter
OBGYN association, deviating from CDC guidance, issues its own vaccine recommendations
- The HillCenter
Leading OB-GYN group issues vaccine recommendations, breaks with CDC
- Ars TechnicaCenter
OB-GYNs release their own vaccine schedule, rejecting RFK Jr.'s meddling
- UPICenter
OB-GYN group breaks with CDC, issues maternal vaccine schedule
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