CDC Revises Immunization Schedules for COVID-19 and Chickenpox

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revised its immunization schedules to emphasize individual decision-making for COVID-19 vaccination, and to recommend that toddlers receive protection from chickenpox as a standalone immunization instead of in combination with measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination. The CDC’s revised schedules reflect changing policy that supports clinical decision-making based upon individual patient characteristics that are difficult to incorporate in broad-based recommendations, including risk factors for the underlying disease, the characteristics of the vaccine, and the best available evidence of which patients may benefit from vaccination.