Jan 03, 2026
3 min read
The Spanish Pediatric Association will make recommendations for 2026. ...
The Advisory Committee on Vaccines and Immunization of the Spanish Association of Pediatrics (CAV-AEP) stated that the inclusion of the hepatitis A (HA) vaccine in a single dose at 12-15 months is a saving for all other unvaccinated children and young people because this vaccine works as well.
This was reported in the journal "Anales de Pediatría", where he published the recommended vaccination and vaccination calendar for 2026, a document based on available scientific and epidemiological evidence.
"Spain, until now, was a country with low endemic hepatitis A, so vaccination was recommended only for risk groups, with these three exceptions," said the CAV-AEP coordinator, Francisco Álvarez.
According to CAV-AEP, until now only Catalonia, Ceuta and Melilla include hepatitis A vaccination in the children's calendar, the last two due to their geographical location and Catalonia as part of a pilot project started in Barcelona, which was later extended to the whole community and remained permanent.
"However, the decrease in the number of cases over the last two years in most autonomous regions forces us to strengthen the epidemiological surveillance of this disease, as well as to promote prevention through vaccination," Álvarez added.
Another update in this edition of the calendar is the flu vaccine recommendation for all children and youth ages 6 to 17, a recommendation launched in the fall.Experts also recommend strengthening coverage for people living in the community and caregivers of high-risk patients and / or living with children under 6 months, pregnant women (both for their own protection and for the safety of their future child, at any time during pregnancy) and all health workers.
Additionally, a new table is included in the 2026 calendar with recommended vaccines by chronic disease or dangerous condition.A special calendar for families has also been published.
CAV-AEP calls for a transition to a single vaccine and vaccination schedule that ensures equity in disease prevention and achieving vaccine protection in all areas.According to the regulator, to achieve this goal, "the joint participation of health professionals and political leaders involved in decision-making about the vaccination schedule and vaccination of children and adolescents in Spain, with which the Commission is fully prepared to cooperate" is needed.
In this context, CAV-AEP once again highlights the urgency of a funding model that includes equal access to vaccines not currently included in the National Health Schedule, reduces the economic impact on families and doubles the efforts of both public health and pediatric primary care teams.
The committee recommends the establishment of a National Vaccination Committee, which would be joined by pediatricians specializing in vaccinations and vaccine-related decision-making committees, as well as public health technicians from ministries and autonomous communities, scientific societies and patient representatives, in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).According to the pediatrician's opinion, "the participation of these actors will promote greater consensus and stronger social support for the decisions made".
Consistency of Key Recommendations
The 2026 AEP vaccination schedule consolidates recommendations made in previous years without distinguishing between sponsored and unsponsored immunizations, taking into account that all vaccinations should be routinely administered in children and adolescents.
In this way, the recommendation to include rotavirus vaccination systematically in all Spanish babies is maintained, as all the autonomous communities have done, except Andalusia, which will enter this month.
In addition, the vaccination schedule against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, 'Haemophilus influenzae type B' and poliomyelitis is committed to maintain, along with hexavalent vaccines, hepatitis B. scheme, with preferred DTPa (DTPa-VPI) which is valid Tdpa+VPI.
It also recommends the administration of a standard dose of diphtheria-pertussis vaccine (DTPa) or, failing that, a low antigen load vaccine (Tdpa) at age 6 years for IPV, followed by another dose of Tdpa at age 10–12 years.
It also recommends maintaining a 2+1 pneumococcal vaccination schedule with VNC15 (2, 4, and 11 months) or VNC20 with a 3+1 schedule (2, 4, 6, and 11 months).Moreover, he recommends the vaccine against meningococcal B in the children's routine, in 2+1 training starting with the age of 2 months.
It recommends updating the vaccination schedule against meningococci A, C, W and Y, with a plan (1+1+1) with one dose at 4 months, another at 12 months and another at 12-13 years, with continuous protection up to 18 years in those who are not MenACWY.
Recommendations include MMR and varicella vaccination, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, human papillomavirus vaccination, use of nirsevimab (a monoclonal antibody against RSV), and systemic influenza vaccination starting with intranasal vaccination in children 6 months to 17 years of age22.
Vaccination during pregnancy
There is also a section dedicated to vaccinations during pregnancy, to protect mother and child, with Tdpa vaccination recommended from the 27th week of pregnancy;Covid mRNA vaccination at any time during pregnancy as well as influenza vaccination when it coincides with the season.
CAV recommendations include RSV vaccination for pregnant women, which is available in community pharmacies but not funded by the SNS.Public health also recommends that children of mothers vaccinated during pregnancy receive antibodies against RSV at birth.
