The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has announced a significant policy shift, stating it will now align its immunization recommendations with those of leading professional medical associations, explicitly breaking from the recently revised guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This move comes after federal officials overhauled the childhood immunization schedule earlier this week, reducing the number of routinely recommended vaccines for all children from 17 to 11. Minnesota Commissioner of Health Dr. Brooke Cunningham asserted that the federal changes do not reflect the best available science, emphasizing that medical association immunization schedules are evidence-based and developed through established professional review processes. The MDH will now follow the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) for children and adolescents, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) for adults, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) for maternal immunization guidance. While the federal CDC's updated schedule shifted certain vaccines for rotavirus, hepatitis A and B, meningitis, and seasonal flu to categories requiring shared decision-making or for high-risk groups, Minnesota will continue to recommend routine immunization against all 17 infectious diseases. This decision ensures that children attending K-12 schools in Minnesota will still be required to obtain more vaccinations than federally recommended, unless official exemptions are filed. Other states, like Wisconsin, have also indicated they will not follow the new CDC guidance, citing a lack of clinical data to justify the changes. This divergence underscores growing concern among medical professionals regarding the impact of the federal government's policy shift on public health and vaccine confidence.