An update to the CDC’s vaccine schedule seems to contradict Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plan to only recommend their use to children with underlying conditions.
“I couldn’t be more pleased to announce that, as of today, the Covid vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule,” Kennedy said in a video posted Tuesday.
As of Thursday, the CDC no longer recommends that all healthy children get vaccinated against Covid. However, the Covid vaccine still appeared on the children’s immunization schedule with a note specifying that healthy children “may” get the vaccine if their health care provider and parent or guardian believe they should — a type of recommendation known as “shared clinical decision making.”
Also, recommendation that pregnant women get the vaccine has been removed, and it is now listed as “No Guidance/Not Applicable.”
The agency had recommended the shot to everyone at least six months old. In the updated schedule, most adults and immunocompromised children are still recommended the shot.
An HHS spokesperson pushed back after publication on Friday, telling POLITICO that the update to the children's vaccine schedule did not contradict Kennedy’s earlier statements. HHS made the same case on X.
“The old COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for healthy children under 18 and for pregnant women have been removed from the CDC vaccine schedule. The CDC and HHS encourage individuals to talk with their healthcare provider about any personal medical decision,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon wrote in an email to POLITICO Friday. “If a parent desires their healthy child to be vaccinated, their decision should be based on informed consent through the clinical judgement of their healthcare provider.”
— Key context: Kennedy has raised concerns about the safety of Covid-19 vaccines for years, and the update to the schedule bucks the CDC’s normal process for new recommendations.
Historically, a panel of experts votes on changes to the schedule after considering the latest data. The CDC director can endorse or reject the recommendations, but nearly always defers to the panel, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
ACIP was expected to vote on updating Covid vaccine guidance at its next meeting in June.
— Big picture: The World Health Organization recommends the Covid shot for pregnant women, any individual who is immunocompromised, and children and adolescents with comorbidities.
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