Somethin' Bout a Shift: Kennedy Jr. Alters CDC's COVID-19 Vaccine Recs
Vaccine Guideline Shifts: Identifying the Groups Impacted
Hey there, here's the scoop on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s recent move to change the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) recommendations for COVID-19 vaccinations.
In a Facebook post on May 27, 2025, the United States Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the CDC would no longer be recommending COVID-19 vaccination to pregnant individuals or healthy children. This announcement followed a statement published by Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), suggesting that COVID-19 immunization programs should focus on older adults and those at high risk of developing severe disease.
People are understandably concerned, especially with the emergence of a new, more transmissible variant of SARS-CoV-2, dubbed NB.1.8.1, in the U.S.
We reached out to two medical experts, Daniel Ganjian, MD, FAAP, a board-certified pediatrician at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, and Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, to get the lowdown on these changes.
Hey Mama, You Still Need That Vaccine, Babe!
One major worry with this shift is the impact on pregnant individuals. If COVID-19 vaccines are no longer recommended for pregnant women, it could actually increase their risk of pregnancy complications.
"If COVID-19 vaccines are no longer recommended for pregnant individuals, pregnant individuals would lose a key intervention that reduces their risk of severe COVID-19, ICU admission, preterm birth, and perinatal death," Ganjian told us.
Organizations like the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and previously, the CDC, have all recommended COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy due to these risks. According to Gandhi, "pregnant women are actually relatively immunocompromised and so are at risk of severe COVID-19."
Kids, Stay Safe and Get Vaxxed
When it comes to children, while healthy kids generally run a lower risk of developing severe COVID-19, infection with the coronavirus that causes it could nevertheless impact their health in unexpected ways. For instance, it could trigger long-term conditions that may lead to additional complications.
"For children, removal of COVID-19 vaccine recommendations would increase the risk of severe COVID-19, hospitalization, and complications such as MIS-C, particularly among those with underlying medical conditions," Ganjian pointed out. The American Academy of Pediatrics still recommends COVID-19 vaccination for all children aged 6 months and older.
The Greater Good: A Public Health Perspective
From a public health perspective, these changes in vaccine recommendations could signal a shift in risk assessment. However, it also risks increased morbidity in vulnerable populations. Gandhi advocates a more discerning approach, suggesting that pregnant women should get booster shots, while healthy children with prior immunity should be O.K. without further vaccination.
What Now, Privacy Punk? Can I Still Get a Vaccine?
Q: Can pregnant women and parents of children still access COVID-19 vaccines if they wish?
A: According to Ganjian, spry folks and parents who still want to vaccinate their children may still be able to access COVID-19 vaccines through private purchase or off-label use if available. However, insurance coverage and public health supply may be limited if recommendations are withdrawn. So, if you're keen to get the jab, you'll have to keep an eye out.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to change the CDC's COVID-19 vaccine recommendations has raised concerns about the impact on pregnant individuals, as they may lose a key intervention to reduce their risk of severe COVID-19 and related complications.
- If the CDC stops recommending COVID-19 vaccines for children, it could potentially increase their risk of severe COVID-19, hospitalization, and complications such as MIS-C, particularly among children with underlying medical conditions.
- From a public health perspective, the changes in vaccine recommendations could signal a shift in risk assessment, but it also risks increased morbidity in vulnerable populations. In this context, medical experts like Gandhi suggest a more discerning approach, such as booster shots for pregnant women and no further vaccination for healthy children with prior immunity.
- Pregnant women and parents who wish to vaccinate their children may still be able to access COVID-19 vaccines through private purchase or off-label use if available, but insurance coverage and public health supply may be limited if recommendations are withdrawn.
- Science, medical-conditions, policy-and-legislation, health-and-wellness, and politics are intertwined in discussions surrounding Kennedy Jr.'s shift in CDC's COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, with experts debating the pros and cons of the changes while considering the greater public health good.
