The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) late Thursday posted changes to the agency’s COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children on the Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule.
The updates followed Tuesday’s announcement by U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that the vaccines would no longer be recommended for healthy children and healthy pregnant women — an announcement that sparked confusion, especially as the changes weren’t yet visible on the CDC website.
Instead of a universal recommendation that all children ages 6 months and older receive the COVID-19 shots, the CDC now recommends “shared clinical decision-making” between parents and providers for children ages 6 months to 17 years who are not moderately immunocompromised.
That means that parents and providers can decide together whether a child should take the shot based on the child’s health status and parents’ preferences.
Attorney Rick Jaffe said, “In short, The COVID shot is still on the schedule for children ages 6 months and older, but the nature of the recommendation has changed.”
“For the first time since the pandemic began, it’s no longer classified as a routine vaccine for children. Instead, it is now a matter of ‘shared clinical decision-making’ for children who are not immunocompromised,” he said.
Dr. Kat Lindley, who has advocated removing the shots from the schedule, told The Defender, “I think this is a win.”
Lindley said:
“Do I like the recommendation? No, because in my opinion, no children should get the shot, even immunocompromised children, because I think they’re going to suffer more severe effects. But at least there is no longer an outright recommendation for it. If you read the clinical notes, they are giving people a choice.”
CBS News reported that the new recommendations mean that health insurance companies will continue to be required to cover the cost of the vaccines for that age group if parents still want their children to get them.
Experts who spoke with The Defender said that despite some ambiguity in existing statutes, it appears the vaccines will also continue to be covered under the Vaccines for Children Program, which provides free vaccines to children whose families cannot afford them.
However, Jaffe said, it should mean that pediatricians who participate in the program should no longer be compelled to order the shot, or targeted for disciplinary action by the program for not ordering it. “I hope that will be the case, but we will have to see how it shakes out.”
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Change draws criticism from all sides
Media and medical associations attacked the revised recommendation, calling it out of line with current thinking. Some health freedom advocates celebrated the announcement.
Others criticized the recommendation because it means the shots continue to be available to a large number of children.
The CDC still recommends COVID-19 vaccines for all adults and moderately and severely immunocompromised children.
There is no definition for “moderately immunocompromised” on the CDC website, which states that immunocompromised means someone has a “weakened immune system.”
The CDC website does provide clarity on the “shared clinical decision-making” recommendations in general.
It states:
“For routine, catch-up, and risk-based recommendations, the default decision should be to vaccinate the patient based on age group or other indication, unless contraindicated. For shared clinical decision-making recommendations, there is no default — the decision about whether or not to vaccinate may be informed by the best available evidence of who may benefit from vaccination.”
Commenting on the model, Substack writer and COVID-19 vaccine expert Sasha Latypova said it is notable that parents aren’t able to participate in decisions about most other vaccines.
“Here it is, clear as day — please note that, according to CDC you DO NOT have any decision-making authority with regard to what they want to inject in your children for ~70 ‘routine’ injections,” she wrote. “Those decisions are being made by the CDC by default.”
In his video announcement earlier this week on X, Kennedy also said the CDC would no longer recommend that healthy pregnant women take the COVID-19 vaccine. However, as of Friday afternoon, the agency’s website continues to say the shots are recommended.
Today, the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from @CDCgov recommended immunization schedule. Bottom line: it’s common sense and it’s good science. We are now one step closer to realizing @POTUS’s promise to Make America Healthy Again. pic.twitter.com/Ytch2afCLP
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) May 27, 2025
The CDC webpage on pregnancy and vaccination currently states that COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy is “safe and effective,” and pregnant women are at greater risk for severe illness, hospitalization, intensive care, the use of a ventilator, and preterm or stillbirth.
HHS announced the new recommendations without consulting the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which led some to criticize the process.
However, the new recommendations are in line with changes ACIP was anticipated to vote on in June.
The committee discussed changing the recommendations from a universal recommendation to one that “urges people at high risk of severe illness if they contract Covid to continue to be vaccinated,” in April, but didn’t vote on it, STAT News reported.
A poll of ACIP members in April showed that 76% supported switching to a non-universal recommendation.
Related articles in The Defender- Media, Health Officials Lash Out at RFK Jr. Over New COVID Vaccine Recommendations — CDC Was Likely to Make the Change Anyway
- Breaking: CDC Removes COVID Vaccines for Kids, Healthy Pregnant Women From Schedule of ‘Recommended’ Shots
- FDA to Limit Approvals of New COVID Vaccines to Elderly, High-Risk Groups — But Hundreds of Millions Still Eligible for the Shots
- HHS Will Stop Recommending COVID Vaccines for Kids, Teens and Pregnant Women, WSJ Reports
- Study Finds 37 Safety Signals for COVID Vaccines During Pregnancy, CDC Still Urges Women to Get the Shots
