The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stopped recommending routine COVID-19 vaccinations for pregnant women and healthy children, US health officials announced on Tuesday.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who oversees the CDC and has long expressed scepticism about vaccines, shared the update in a video on social media platform X. He said the vaccines were removed from the CDC’s recommended immunisation schedule for these groups as part of broader efforts to overhaul the U.S. health system in line with President Donald Trump’s goal to significantly reduce the size of the federal government.
“We are now one step closer to realising @POTUS’s promise to Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy said.
Previously, the CDC had recommended updated COVID vaccines for all individuals aged six months and older.
According to the CDC website, extensive studies involving hundreds of thousands of people worldwide have shown that COVID-19 vaccination before and during pregnancy is safe, effective, and beneficial for both mother and baby.
However, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary said in the video that there is no evidence supporting the need for routine COVID shots in healthy children. He noted that most countries have already stopped recommending the vaccine for children.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic behind us, it is time to move forward,” said the Department of Health and Human Services in a statement.
Vaccine manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
These new recommendations follow an announcement last week by the FDA that it plans to require new clinical trials before approving annual COVID-19 booster shots for healthy Americans under 65, effectively limiting boosters to older adults and those at higher risk of severe illness.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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