CDC Maintains Guidance On COVID Shots For Kids, Contradicting RFK Jr.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has revised its COVID-19 vaccination language, backing away from routine recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women — while still officially endorsing the shots. The mixed messaging has drawn sharp criticism from the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement and created broader confusion among parents and physicians.

The shift comes after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that COVID-19 vaccinations would no longer be routinely recommended for these groups. Kennedy’s move sidestepped the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which normally vets and approves such changes through a transparent process. That bypass has triggered concern among public health experts over both the precedent it sets and potential fallout — especially regarding insurance coverage, which often hinges on CDC guidance.

The CDC’s updated page now states that individuals aged 6 months to 17 years “may” receive the vaccine based on a shared decision-making model with their health care provider. Though the agency insists it still supports childhood vaccination against COVID-19, critics argue the new language is an effective rollback of its prior stance. The shared decision approach is meant to promote dialogue between doctors and families, but some see it as a political compromise rather than a science-based policy.

Medical groups, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have pushed back on the administration’s removal of routine guidance for pregnant women. They point to ongoing evidence that COVID-19 increases the risk of severe illness during pregnancy and argue that the change undercuts maternal and infant health.

The New York Times has additional information:

The shots will also continue to be available under those terms to about 38 million low-income children who rely on the Vaccines for Children program, according to an emailed update from the C.D.C. on Friday.

However, the picture is less certain now for pregnant women, a group the C.D.C. had considered to be at high risk for a bad outcome from the virus. The official C.D.C. position for pregnant women is “no guidance,” according to a communication released from the agency Friday. Mr. Kennedy’s pronouncement on Tuesday had included a decision to drop the recommendation for pregnant women to receive Covid shots.

The C.D.C.’s new guidance on pregnant women is a troubling turn of events for experts familiar with research showing that their risk of stillbirth, hospitalization and death rises if they have Covid.

Dr. Michelle Fiscus, a pediatrician and chief medical officer with the Association of Immunization Managers, said that based on federal health officials’ statements in recent days, she had expected to see a recommendation for pregnant women to get the vaccine if they had an additional condition putting them at high risk.

Online reaction has been swift and divided, reflecting the broader public tension over U.S. health policy and pandemic-era mandates. The ACIP is scheduled to meet June 25–27 to discuss recommendations for the upcoming fall vaccination season, but the political and procedural fallout from Kennedy’s move is likely to be a central topic.

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