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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will no longer recommend routine COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy children and pregnant women, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday in a social media post, marking a significant shift in federal pandemic policy.
“We are now one step closer to realizing @POTUS’s promise to Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
The announcement, which came without a formal CDC press briefing, has sparked immediate controversy in the medical community, where experts say the change contradicts established public health science.
Background
The CDC had previously advised that all individuals aged six months and older receive updated COVID vaccinations annually. That guidance was grounded in studies showing that even mild COVID infections could cause complications in vulnerable populations, including children and expectant mothers.
The change comes one week after Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary stated that future COVID shots would be limited to individuals at high risk of severe disease — including older adults and those with underlying medical conditions.
Policy Implications and Legal Questions
Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, did not clarify how “healthy” pregnancy is defined in this context. Medical authorities generally consider pregnancy a high-risk condition for respiratory infections like COVID-19, due to immune system changes.
Going forward, new COVID vaccines for healthy individuals will require traditional placebo-controlled clinical trials for FDA approval — a process that can take years.
The FDA has already placed usage limits on the Novavax COVID vaccine, which it approved earlier this month only for individuals 65 and older or with health conditions increasing their risk.
There are no current federal mandates requiring COVID vaccination, but access and public guidance from agencies like the CDC influence both uptake and state-level policies.
Government Response and Expert Reactions
Though the CDC has not released a detailed statement on the policy reversal, former acting CDC Director Dr. Richard Besser said the decision undermines public trust in science.
“This is clearly not coming from the direction of expert advisors,” Besser told reporters. “It’s greatly concerning.”
Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, also expressed alarm. “We still have children in our emergency department with COVID. When we see them, they have bronchiolitis or bronchitis. Do they consider that not worthy of prevention?”
Broader Context and History
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a long record of challenging vaccine policies. In 2021, he filed a petition to revoke emergency use authorizations for COVID vaccines and called the shots “the deadliest vaccine ever made” due to rare cases of myocarditis — though studies show the risk of myocarditis is higher from a COVID infection itself.
Medical professionals widely supported the original CDC recommendations, especially for pregnant women. During the peak of the pandemic, hospitals reported surging ICU admissions of pregnant women with severe COVID.
A study from Brown University’s School of Public Health published last month showed a spike in maternal deaths after the onset of the pandemic.
Future Outlook
While COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths remain low nationwide, the virus continues to circulate. Health officials are debating which viral strains to include in upcoming fall booster shots, though it remains unclear whether shots will be widely available.
In 2024, new boosters were greenlit by August and distributed by October. Experts fear this year’s timeline could be disrupted by policy changes and delays in authorization.
Dr. Offit and others worry that rolling back vaccination guidance will leave millions more Americans vulnerable — especially as fall approaches.
