The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has released a recommended vaccination schedule for pregnant women, which differs from the advice currently provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
ACOG recommends that four vaccines be given regularly during pregnancy, and several other vaccines are also recommended under certain circumstances. The new schedule is supported by 13 medical societies and health organizations.
“Changes in national recommendations and widespread vaccine misinformation are causing confusion for both patients and health care professionals,” ACOG President Camille Claire said in a press release. “It is critical that the public has access to reliable, evidence-based information about maternal immunization from trusted sources, and ACOG is proud to be that source.”
The current CDC vaccine schedule for pregnant women has only two recommendations. One is a vaccine known as Tdap that prevents tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis, and the other is a vaccine that protects the developing fetus from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
The CDC recommends that the Tdap vaccine be given once per pregnancy, preferably between 27 and 36 weeks of pregnancy. For RSV, only Pfizer’s Abrysvo is approved for use in one pregnancy only. In subsequent pregnancies, the infant should be protected against RSV with a monoclonal antibody injection at birth during the RSV season (which usually begins in early fall and may last until March or April) or at the beginning of the season if the baby is born at another time.
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Previous CDC recommendations that pregnant women receive influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations for each pregnancy have been rescinded under the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at the Department of Health and Human Services.
ACOG recommends that pregnant women get vaccinated against Tdap, RSV, influenza, and Covid during pregnancy. Similar to the CDC’s recommendations, ACOG said that currently pregnant people should receive RSV vaccination during only one pregnancy. This is because the appropriate schedule for administering the RSV booster vaccination is not yet clear.
ACOG’s schedule recommends that pregnant women get flu and COVID-19 shots in the fall, but says vaccinations are available at any time of the year. Tdap can be administered at any time of the year. RSV vaccine for pregnant people is recommended during specific RSV seasons from September to January.
Laura Riley, director of obstetrics and gynecology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, said ACOG’s recommendations are needed to resolve the murky situation. He pointed out that vaccinating against the coronavirus during pregnancy not only protects the pregnant person, but also protects the newborn, as they are too young to be vaccinated immediately after birth.
The association also recommended vaccinations to protect against pneumococcal disease, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A and hepatitis B for some pregnant women who are considered at risk or who have not been previously vaccinated.
The ACOG schedule also outlines vaccines recommended for breastfeeding and puerperal pregnant women.
The association’s decision to issue its own vaccination guidance comes as multiple medical professional groups, under President Kennedy’s leadership, clashed with the CDC over vaccine policy.
President Kennedy, a longtime critic of vaccinations, in June 2025 dismissed a panel of experts advising the CDC on the use of vaccines and replaced them with people who shared his skepticism about vaccines. In the meantime, the committee has modified vaccination schedules to suit different age groups and demographics, reducing the number of vaccines recommended for everyone.
ACOG was a liaison member of the expert committee for a long time, but has since withdrawn from the expert committee.
In March, a federal court issued a preliminary ruling on many of the vaccine-related actions initiated by President Kennedy. The CDC’s Expert Advisory Committee on Vaccines, known as the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, has reached an impasse, but there are reports that President Kennedy intends to reorganize the committee. HHS appealed this decision.
