Four decades ago, the sickest children in intensive care all had something in common: They were infected with Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib).

Hib can cause a range of illnesses, from mild to life-threatening. For the children in the ICU, it had led to H-flu pneumonia, meningitis or epiglottitis, diseases that are debilitating at best, deadly at worst.

Then, in the mid-1980s, something remarkable happened: With the introduction of a vaccine, Hib infections dropped by 99%. That vaccine has since prevented millions of deaths.

For more than a century, childhood immunizations have protected countless children and transformed public health. That progress is now at risk. Misleading claims and confusing federal policies are undermining confidence in vaccines and threatening to unravel decades-old systems built to keep children safe.

Already, the kindergarten vaccination rate for measles, mumps and rubella has slipped to 92.5%, nearly three points below the target for community immunity. With more than 4,300 measles cases in the past 18 months, the most in more than three decades, the U.S. is on the verge of losing its measles elimination status.

At this pivotal moment, the role of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is clear: to protect children from preventable diseases, support pediatricians as trusted voices and ensure families have access to clear, unbiased facts.

With support from individual AAP members and philanthropic organizations, the AAP has launched a national communications campaign to correct misleading claims and reestablish trust in vaccines. Building on its history of leadership in children’s health, the Academy is working to safeguard every child’s right to grow up healthy and protected. And your gifts are making it happen.

March 1, 2025

The American Academy of Pediatrics launches its vaccine confidence campaign.

How the AAP is Restoring Trust in Vaccines

The AAP and its trusted network of 67,000 pediatricians is uniquely positioned to reverse declining vaccination rates.

Parents are navigating a sea of conflicting information about vaccines. Overwhelmingly, they turn to their pediatricians for clarity—more than any other source, according to an October 2025 poll from KFF. In fact, Americans are more likely to trust immunization recommendations from the AAP than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to a University of Pennsylvania study released in March.

That trust doesn’t come out of nowhere. Pediatricians see babies at least eight times in the first year alone, which anchors their deep partnership with parents. Parents know their child and what they need to thrive. Pediatricians have medical training, special knowledge and scientific evidence about how to support children's health. Working together, they can make informed decisions about what's best for the child. Anyone who has questions about vaccines, or anything else, can talk with their pediatrician.

To that end, the Academy is training pediatricians to effectively talk with parents about immunizations and dispel myths with empathy and facts, both in and out of the clinic. Articles about immunization on HealthyChildren.org, the AAP’s parenting website, as well as a new Fact Checked series on AAP.org, reinforce those conversations.

“Pediatricians have the answers parents need when outside forces are planting doubt about proven science,” says AAP President Andrew D. Racine, M.D., Ph.D., FAAP. “We need to deliver our evidence-based recommendations in spaces outside the exam room because parents might be getting incorrect information on social media, on TV and in conversations in their communities.”

The AAP is doing all of this with a clear goal in mind: get the kindergarten vaccination rate back to 95%.

Learn More About AAP's Vaccine Confidence Campaign

August 19, 2025

The AAP releases its own evidence-based immunization schedule for the fall respiratory virus season. In a rare move, it does not align with CDC recommendations.

Social Media as a Bridge to Parents

Dr. Alok Patel gestures energetically with a small plastic baby doll in his hands during a recent social media video. The Stanford Medicine pediatrician and ABC News medical contributor launches into five things he tells every parent about the hepatitis B vaccine.

First, the scary stuff: Hepatitis B is almost 100 times more contagious than HIV. And there’s a 90% chance infected babies will develop lifelong infection that can eventually lead to liver failure or cancer.

Then, he shares the good news—really good news.

The hepatitis B vaccine works remarkably well and, for decades, tens of millions of babies have safely received it.

“Cases of childhood hepatitis B have dropped over 90%,” he says. “This is one of the biggest silent wins in pediatrics.” That Instagram reel reached 49,000 accounts and has been viewed 66,400 times.

More than half of parents say they use platforms like Instagram and TikTok to get health information. It can be hard for them to tell who’s credible, however, when they scroll through posts from influencers who sound authoritative but lack medical expertise.

To help parents navigate their children’s health online, the AAP is working with trusted pediatricians like Dr. Patel to populate Instagram, YouTube and TikTok with accurate information.

These doctor influencers reach millions of parents with a personable mix of facts and firsthand stories from the clinic, underpinned by decades of medical expertise.

Immediate past president Susan J. Kressly, M.D., F.A.A.P., powerfully advocated for vaccines both on social media and in the news, which earned her a spot on TIME’s 2026 list of the 100 most influential people in health. During the last few months of 2025 alone, the media referenced her comments on vaccines more than 2,500 times, reaching more than 390.7 million people.

Each of these efforts shares a thread: Pediatricians are speaking out because they understand the responsibility that comes from being trusted voices in their communities. And, among the older generation of pediatricians, they’ve seen firsthand how devastating measles, polio and mumps can be. They don’t want to go back.

The American Academy of Pediatrics provides a list of trustworthy doctors to follow on social media.

The American Academy of Pediatrics provides a list of trustworthy doctors to follow on social media.

“In exam rooms in every town, city and rural community, pediatricians rolled up their sleeves and invested increasing amounts of time dispelling false claims about the harms of vaccines. We drew on the deep well of trust that patients and families have in their pediatricians to listen thoughtfully and encourage the continued widespread receipt of vaccines.”

Andrew D. Racine, M.D., Ph.D., FAAP., 2026 AAP President

Advocacy Rooted in Evidence

An AAP employee spent weeks this fall searching for a COVID-19 vaccine for her immunocompromised son.

Appointments were scarce. Pharmacies and doctor’s offices were already limiting immunizations for children because of the current climate, even though the COVID vaccine is safe and effective. For families like hers, the stakes are life and death. And the challenge is only getting harder.

That’s why, in addition to informing parents, the AAP is confronting policies that make it harder for people to immunize their children. (This mom eventually found the vaccine after an AAP benefits officer called dozens of pharmacies for her.)

The Academy has forged partnerships with medical organizations, including more than 60 groups that support the Family Vaccine Protection Act (H.R. 3071). That resolution would amend the Public Health Service Act so the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) remains free of political interference.

Along with several other major health groups, the AAP coauthored a letter to congressional leaders, urging them to protect vaccine access. As the letter states: “Our organizations cannot stand by while core institutions and systems that protect the health of individuals, communities and our nation as a whole are dismantled.”

September 3, 2025

AAP members sent over 1,400 letters to Congress urging oversight of government actions that threaten children’s access to vaccines.

December 5, 2025

The AAP joins 70 other health and public advocacy groups in denouncing ACIP’s decision to delay the hepatitis B vaccine at birth.

Responding With Science

The AAP is staying the course just like a good parent guides their children: steady, clear and strong. It remains firmly committed to publishing an evidence-based childhood immunization schedule—a commitment it’s upheld since 1935, before ACIP even existed.

After all: The vast majority of parents do vaccinate their children. A vocal minority may dominate the conversation, but many more support immunization. The AAP is grateful to the donors supporting this effort who share its commitment to evidence-based medicine and to strengthening vaccine confidence. We welcome you to join this community with your own gift that ensures this vital work continues.

Strong public health institutions are vital to the well-being of all Americans, and we hope one day to return to a place where parents feel confident in CDC recommendations. In the meantime, the AAP will continue to provide guidance to families and physicians on immunization. That’s because as faith in government agencies and public institutions falters, trust in pediatricians endures. Parents still carry their questions, their anxieties and their children into the doctor’s office, searching for clarity and comfort. That fragile bond of trust is the cornerstone of AAP advocacy. And it is in that enduring relationship between families and the physicians who care for their children that the heart of the Academy beats.