News & Views: Test Yourself on the 2024 Immunization Schedule Changes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently posted the 2024 immunization schedules:

• Recommended Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule
• Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule

As a way of checking your familiarity with the updates and changes, test yourself with the below multiple-choice questions.

Questions

Scroll down for answers.

Q1. New vaccines against which of the following pathogens were NOT added to the adult schedule?

1. RSV
2. Pneumococcus
3. Mpox
4. Meningococcus

Q2. Specific vaccine products against which of the following pathogens were removed from either the childhood immunization schedule, adult immunization schedule, or both schedules?

1. COVID-19
2. Meningococcus
3. Diphtheria
4. Tetanus
5. Pneumococcus
6. Two of these
7. All of these

Q3. On each schedule, where can you find information about which vaccines are not covered by the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP)?

1. In the list of vaccines on page 1 of each schedule
2. In the “Routine Vaccination” section of the notes for each individual vaccine
3. In the “Additional Information” section at the beginning of the “Notes” section
4. In the “Appendix” section of each schedule

Q4. Which of the following will be found in the “Addendum,” a new section at the end of each schedule?

1. New or updated vaccine recommendations that occur after the schedule was published
2. The date the recommendations became effective
3. Links to recommendations published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), if available
4. All of these
5. None of these

Q5. Information about which two allergies was removed from the 2024 schedules because it is no longer applicable?

1. Influenza vaccine and egg allergies
2. Hib vaccine and natural rubber latex allergies
3. Hepatitis A vaccine and neomycin allergies
4. Hepatitis B vaccine and yeast allergies
5. A and B
6. A and C
7. A and D

Answers

A1. The answer is (B). New vaccines for mpox and RSV were added to both schedules. The RSV monoclonal antibody product, nirsevimab, was added to the child and adolescent schedule. The new five-valent meningococcal vaccine, called Penbraya, was also added to both schedules. However, the pneumococcal 20-valent conjugate vaccine was only added to the child and adolescent schedule because it was already listed on the 2023 adult immunization schedule.

A2. The answer is (G). Bivalent COVID-19 mRNA vaccines and the meningococcal polysaccharide A, C, W and Y vaccine called Menactra were removed from both schedules. DT and pneumococcal-13 vaccines were removed from the child and adolescent schedule.

A3. The answer is (C). The “Additional Information” section at the beginning of the “Notes” section includes information about the NVICP, including which vaccines are not covered, in the last bullet point of the section. On the child and adolescent schedule, this information can be found at the bottom of the left-most column on page 5, and, on the adult schedule, it is at the bottom of the left-most column on page 4.

A. The answer is (D). The new “Addendum” section at the end of each schedule will serve as a place to find official recommendations that are not reflected on the published schedule because they were approved after the 2024 schedule was finalized by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The 2024 schedules were approved by the ACIP on Oct. 26, 2023.

A5. The answer is (E). Information about egg allergic individuals and influenza vaccine was removed from the influenza notes section and replaced with a note that people with egg allergies can get any influenza vaccine that is appropriate for their age and health status. Likewise, the contraindication related to natural rubber latex allergies is no longer a concern for a certain subset of Hib vaccines, so it was removed from the contraindications table in the Appendix. The examples shared in items C and D in this answer remain in place and can be found on the contraindications table in the Appendix.

For a more comprehensive look at the changes to the 2024 schedules as well as for a series of useful resources related to shared clinical decision-making and catch-up guidance, check out the CDC’s “Schedule Changes & Guidance” webpage.