ACIP updates vaccination guidelines for 2016

Changes to vaccination protocols against meningococcal serotype B (MenB) and human papillomavirus (HPV) are some of the most significant in the 2016 immunization schedule released recently by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The new schedule has been endorsed by a number of medical groups including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The immunization schedule is revised annually. “Changes in the child/adolescent schedule reflect new ACIP recommendations and provide additional information on existing recommendations,” says Candice L Robinson, MD, MPH, of United States Public Health Service and the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. “The purpose of the recommended immunization schedule is to protect infants and children by providing immunity early in life, before they are exposed to potentially life-threatening diseases. Healthcare professionals are the...