the Proclamation

u.s. health and human services secretary robert f.kennedy jr. announced via social media platform x that the covid-19 vaccine may be removed from the list of recommended vaccines for pregnant women and children.

as of today, the covid vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the cdc recommended immunization schedule.

robert f. kennedy jr., u.s. health and human services secretary

official Statements and Rationale

the food and drug administration (fda) advisors have been considering narrowing the covid-19 vaccine recommendations for some time. a statement from the u.s. health and human services (hhs) provided context:

as part of the trump administration’s commitment to common sense, the covid-19 vaccine will be removed from the cdc’s recommended immunization schedule. as commissioner makary said, “there’s no evidence healthy kids need it today, and most countries stopped recommending it for children.” with the covid-19 pandemic behind us, it is indeed time to move forward. hhs and the cdc remain committed to gold standard science and to ensuring the health and well-being of all americans-especially our nation’s children-using common sense.

u.s. health and human services

jay bhattacharya, director of the national institutes of health, echoed this sentiment in a social media post:

that ends today, it’s common sense and good science.

jay bhattacharya, director of the national institutes of health

expert Disagreement

not all experts agree with this shift. timothy durkee, an obstetrician and gynecologist with uw health, emphasizes that the american college of obgyn (acog) still recommends the covid-19 vaccine for pregnant women.

i think eliminating the recommendation for the covid vaccine in pregnant women creates a little bit of confusion. it has been found beneficial to infants that the antibodies that the mother makes to the covid vaccine are actually transferred through the placenta to the infant, giving them protection.

timothy durkee, obstetrician and gynecologist with uw health

durkee added that current data suggests only benefits, with no apparent downsides, for pregnant women who receive the vaccine.

patients really need to sit down with their doc and devise the best strategy going forward if they’re pregnant.

timothy durkee, obstetrician and gynecologist with uw health

current Status and Availability

as of late tuesday, the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) had not yet updated its immunization schedule to reflect the removal of the vaccines. the covid-19 vaccines remain available, but experts caution that access for children and pregnant women may become more challenging once the changes are officially implemented.

faq: covid-19 Vaccine recommendations

• is the covid-19 vaccine still available?

  yes, but access may become more arduous for children and pregnant women once changes are official.

• does acog still recommend the vaccine for pregnant women?

  yes, the american college of obgyn continues to recommend it.

• why is the recommendation being reconsidered?

  the u.s. health and human services cites “common sense” and the perception that the pandemic is behind us.