The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has made a major announcement regarding immunization schedules for children.
On Thursday, the CDC released immunization schedule update recommendations, including adding COVID-19 shots and boosters for children between 6 months and 18 years old.
The immunization schedule refers to timetables created for medical and educational professionals, among others, that establish guidelines for when children should receive the bevy of shots they need in the early stages of their lives.
This move could give states the authority to make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for school attendance.
However, some states have laws in place that prevent mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for children.
It remains to be seen how the new CDC rule will affect children living in these states.
While vaccine requirements are different for every state, as well as Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories, all of them have vaccination requirements for children to enter daycare and K-12 public education.
Common required shots include those for Chicken Pox (Varicella), polio, hepatitis b, as well as measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR).
The MMR vaccine is famous for its central role in the rise of the anti-vax movement after a now-former physician and discredited academic Andrew Wakefield published a paper linking the administration of the vaccine and the development of autism in children.
The claims were found to be fraudulent and the original paper was retracted.