- The U.S. Department of Health has removed COVID-19 from the vaccination schedule for healthy pregnant women and children.
- Many nations have stopped recommending the vaccine for children, FDA commissioner said.
- Critics say vaccinating pregnant women protects babies too young to receive the shot.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has removed COVID-19 from the immunization schedule for healthy pregnant women and children.
In a video posted on X, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that healthy women and children are no longer being told to get the vaccine. Kennedy was accompanied in the video by U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary and National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya. The latter called the decision “common sense” and “good science.”
The move follows last week’s announcement of an FDA plan to restrict access to COVID-19 vaccines. As Deseret News reported, access will be open for those 65 and older or who have certain conditions that put them at risk of severe symptoms.
For the vaccines to be licensed for healthy people ages 6 months to 64, new clinical trials will be required, per HHS.
Vaccine manufacturers will be encouraged to conduct those trials for healthy populations as part of post-marketing research, Makary and Dr. Vinay Prasad, who heads the organization that approves or rejects licensing applications for vaccines, the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research within the FDA, wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine. The announcement on vaccination limitations was made in that article.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which normally makes vaccine recommendations, was not part of the announcement impacting pregnant women and children who are healthy.
The New York Times reported that the CDC advisory panel was set to vote in June on whether to continue to recommend the vaccine for those 6 months and older “or switch to a risk-based strategy targeting only the most vulnerable.”
The article said the Tuesday video announcement “effectively voids that official step.”
Changing the recommendation
The list of those able to get the shot at the time of last week’s announcement were those with asthma, cancer, cerebrovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic liver disease, chronic lung disease, cystic fibrosis, diabetes of all types, disabilities, heart conditions, HIV, mood disorders including depression and schizophrenia spectrum disorders, dementia and Parkinson’s disease, obesity, physical inactivity, pregnancy and recent pregnancy, primary immunodeficiencies, smoking or a history of it, organ or stem-cell transplant, tuberculosis and use of immunosuppressant medications or corticosteroids.
The new announcement makes explicit that pregnant women are no longer on the list.
Per the Associated Press, “the idea of changing the recommendations is not completely out of the blue. As the COVID-19 pandemic has waned, experts have increasingly discussed the possibility of focusing vaccination efforts on people 65 and older — who are among those most at risk for death and hospitalization."
Mixed views of the change
Critics worried that if insurance companies don’t pay for the shots, those not at risk of severe symptoms won’t be able to afford them if they want them.
Others say it will make little difference. Uptake of the vaccine has been waning. The CDC reported that only 13% of children got the latest round of booster, while for pregnant women the number was 14%.
Makary pointed out that most countries have stopped recommending the vaccine for children.
“It’s really concerning,” Dr. Sean O’Leary, who chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Infectious Diseases, told NPR. “I think it’s going to be confusing not only for parents but also for public health professionals and medical professionals as well. This takes away choice.”
Dr. Steven Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, was quoted by AP: “The science has not changed. It is very clear that COVID infection during pregnancy can be catastrophic and lead to major disability, and it can cause devastating consequences for families.”
He noted that vaccination of a pregnant woman protects her infant after birth, since the newborn is too young to be safely given a vaccine.
Others highlight a risk associated with COVID-19 vaccination and said little was done to warn the public.
Per the Washington Examiner, “The Senate investigations subcommittee released a report that concluded federal health agencies knew about the risks of myocarditis following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination but concealed them from the public. At the time, the CDC considered putting out an announcement on the Health Alert Network regarding this specific heart condition that developed in vaccinated patients but ultimately decided against it."
In the video, Kennedy said that “the Biden administration urged healthy children to get yet another COVID shot, despite the lack or any clinical data to support the repeat booster strategy in children.”