The American Academy of Pediatrics issued new immunisation guidance on 19 August that recommends COVID-19 vaccination for all children aged six to 23 months and for older youngsters with underlying conditions. The advice reverses the government’s recent step back from universal paediatric vaccination and marks the first substantial divergence between the AAP and U.S. government schedules in three decades. Federal guidance, revised in May under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., says healthy children may receive the shot only after consulting a physician and does not actively urge vaccination for any paediatric age group. The split follows Kennedy’s dismissal of the CDC’s long-standing immunisation panel and his decision to scale back funding for mRNA vaccine research. HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon accused the AAP of “undermining national immunisation policymaking with baseless political attacks” and suggested the group was influenced by pharmaceutical donors. AAP president Dr. Susan J. Kressly countered that the academy’s recommendations “are rooted in science and in the best interest of children’s health,” adding that infants face a higher risk of severe COVID-19 and need clear, consistent advice.