CDC COVID Shots: No Longer Recommended for Kids & Pregnant Women
- The CDC will no longer recommend COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women, according to HHS Secretary Robert F.
- Makary and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, announced the change in a video posted on X.
- Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, criticized the decision.
The CDC is no longer recommending COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women, a critically important shift in vaccine guidance. This decision, announced by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., follows new federal directives and has sparked debate among medical experts. Critics, like Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security’s Amesh A. Adalja, are calling these “bad recommendations.” the american College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has also voiced its disappointment, emphasizing the risks of COVID-19 during pregnancy. News Directory 3 is following this developing story closely. Discover what the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has planned for the fall.
CDC Updates COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance for Children, Pregnant Women
The CDC will no longer recommend COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women, according to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The announcement regarding COVID-19 vaccine recommendations comes amid evolving federal directives for the shots.
Kennedy, flanked by FDA Commissioner Martin A. Makary and NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, announced the change in a video posted on X. He stated the Biden administration previously urged healthy children to receive COVID-19 boosters despite lacking clinical data supporting repeat boosters in children.
Amesh A. Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, criticized the decision. He told Healio, “These are bad recommendations that no one should follow,” adding that pregnancy is a high-risk condition for COVID-19. He also noted the benefits of initial COVID-19 vaccine series for healthy children, given high hospitalization rates for those under 2.
“These are bad recommendations that no one should follow,” Adalja told Healio.
Last week, Makary and Vinay Prasad published an article in The New England Journal of Medicine outlining new FDA restrictions for COVID-19 vaccines based on age and risk factors.Their suggestions included limiting vaccine use to adults 65 and older and those aged 6 months to 64 years with high-risk conditions,provided the vaccines induce an immune response. The FDA will require data from randomized, placebo-controlled trials evaluating clinical outcomes for others before approving COVID-19 vaccines.
Paul A. Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, expressed concern about conflicting messages. He questioned makarys stance, given his recent paper highlighting pregnancy as a high-risk group, while concurrently supporting the decision to not recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for pregnant women.
Steven J. Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), said ACOG was “concerned about and extremely disappointed” by the decision. He emphasized the dangers of COVID-19 infection during pregnancy and the importance of maternal antibodies for infant protection.
“As OB/GYNs who treat patients every day, we have seen firsthand how hazardous COVID-19 infection can be during pregnancy and for newborns who depend on maternal antibodies from the vaccine for protection,” Fleischman said.
sean O’Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ committee on infectious diseases, stated the decision bypasses a long-established, evidence-based process used to ensure vaccine safety. Mother Tan, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, echoed this concern, noting the negative impact on millions of Americans.
What’s next
the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is expected to meet in the coming months to discuss and potentially revise COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for the fall, considering the evolving data and expert opinions.