Today Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made another sweeping change to the US vaccine landscape, saying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has removed its recommendation of the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children and pregnant women.
"I couldn't be more pleased to announce that, as of today, the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant woman has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule," Kennedy said in a video message, flanked by Martin Makary, MD, MPH, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, and Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health.
The move comes just 1 week after the FDA announced—via an opinion piece in the New England Journal of Medicine—that the vaccine would now be offered only to adults 65 years and older or those with underlying conditions that made them vulnerable to severe COVID-19.
Today's video message is short and direct but is already causing confusion, as pregnancy itself is considered a risk factor for severe COVID-19.
ACOG 'extremely disappointed'
Steven J. Fleischman, MD, MBA, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), said in a press release sent to the media that the move is worrisome.
Despite the change in recommendations from HHS, the science has not changed
"ACOG is concerned about and extremely disappointed by the announcement that HHS will no longer recommend COVID vaccination during pregnancy. As ob-gyns who treat patients every day, we have seen firsthand how dangerous COVID infection can be during pregnancy and for newborns who depend on maternal antibodies from the vaccine for protection. We also understand that despite the change in recommendations from HHS, the science has not changed," said Fleischman said.
Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), which publishes CIDRAP News, said the announcement is just another example of the policy making "on the fly" that has been emblematic under Kennedy during President Donald Trump's second term.
"We can't count on policy from hour to hour, let alone day to day,” said Osterholm. "Just last week the FDA indicated that pregnancy was a special risk group. There's been no new consultation, no new information since then."
The ACOG statement said there is evidence that maternal vaccination protects newborns from COVID infections in the first 6 months after birth.
"We are concerned about access implications, and what this recommendation will mean for insurance coverage of the COVID vaccine for those who do choose to get vaccinated during pregnancy. And as ob-gyns, we are very concerned about the potential deterioration of vaccine confidence in the future," said Fleischman.
On its website, ACOC still recommends COVID vaccination for pregnant women.
Other nations not recommending kids' vaccination
In the video message, the three men did not address vaccination in pregnancy, but they did talk about why COVID vaccines were being pulled for healthy children.
"There's no evidence that healthy kids need it today, and most countries have stopped recommending it for children," said Makary.
The three officials also did not discuss what role officials from the CDC played in the decision, as changes made to immunization schedules are typically made by the CDC.
