#ACIP issues 2021 immunization schedule for adults

(HealthDay)—The recommended immunization schedule for adults has been updated for 2021, according to a report published online Feb. 11 in the Annals of Internal Medicine and in the Feb. 12 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Mark S. Freedman, D.V.M., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues present the 2021 adult immunization schedule, which summarizes the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations.

The 2021 immunization schedule includes several changes from the 2020 schedule on the coverage page, two tables, and accompanying notes. Vaccine-specific changes include new or updated ACIP recommendations for influenza vaccine, hepatitis A vaccine, hepatitis B vaccine, human papillomavirus vaccine, pneumococcal vaccines, meningococcal serogroups A, C, W, and Y vaccines, meningococcal B vaccines, and zoster vaccine. In addition, a section has been added for COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, following interim recommendations for use of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines after emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Other updates include changes to Table 2 to indicate that the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine should be administered after pregnancy; the varicella vaccine should be administered after pregnancy; and the zoster vaccine live or Zostavax vaccine has been removed since it is no longer available in the United States.

“For further guidance on the use of each vaccine, including contraindications and precautions, and any updates that might occur between annual updates to the adult immunization schedule, health care providers are referred to the respective ACIP vaccine recommendations,” the authors write.

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