ACIP updates the General Recommendations on Immunization

CDC. MMWR. 2011;60(2):1-64.

Issue: March 2011

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recently released an update of its General Recommendation on Immunization.

The revisions to the recommendations were released just before publication of the recommended immunization schedules for children and adolescents, which were published online in Pediatrics. They are also slated for publication in an upcoming Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The recommendations, which are generally updated every 3 to 5 years, take the place of the 2006 recommendations. Notable revisions to the 2006 recommendations include:

Revisions to the tables of contraindications and precautions to vaccination, as well as a separate table of conditions that are commonly misperceived as contraindications and precautions;
Reordering of the report content, with vaccine risk-benefit screening, managing adverse reactions, reporting of adverse events, and the vaccine injury compensation program presented immediately after the discussion of contraindications and precautions;
Stricter criteria for selecting an appropriate storage unit for vaccines;
Additional guidance for maintaining the cold chain in the event of unavoidable temperature deviations;
Updated revisions for vaccination of patients who have received a hematopoietic cell transplant. The most recent ACIP recommendations for each specific vaccine should be consulted for comprehensive details, according to the CDC.

The updated general recommendations, ACIP recommendations for each vaccine, and additional information about vaccinations are available at www.cdc.gov/vaccines.