Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced this week that the CDC will no longer recommend COVID-19 vaccines for “healthy children and pregnant people.” The decision was shared via a video on social platform X, featuring FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary and NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who argued that healthy children do not need the vaccine.
Experts Raise Concerns Over Process
Public health experts were surprised by the announcement’s format. Normally, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) reviews data and provides recommendations. This time, no such review took place.
“This didn’t follow the standard process,” said Dr. Paul Offit of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “Instead, three individuals, led by RFK Jr., made a public declaration without input from experts or the public.”
COVID Still Poses Risks to Children
Though severe outcomes from COVID-19 are rare in children, they do occur. In 2023, 152 children died from COVID—40% of whom were previously healthy, according to CDC data.
“The risks of COVID in healthy kids are low—but the risks of the vaccine are even lower,” said Dr. Gregory Poland, president of the Atria Research Institute. “Vaccination also helps reduce hospitalizations and long COVID.”
A CDC study estimates that over 1 million U.S. children have experienced long COVID. Vaccines have been shown to lower this risk and reduce emergency visits and hospitalizations by about 40%.
Community Protection and Lingering Questions
Experts also note a community benefit to child vaccination, though the protection against transmission is temporary. “There’s a short-lived but meaningful benefit to the community,” Poland added.
The announcement leaves key questions unanswered, including whether it applies only to already vaccinated children or all healthy children. Terms like “healthy” remain vague, especially as Kennedy has cited studies suggesting that most U.S. children have chronic conditions.
“If he means vaccinated healthy kids don’t need yearly boosters, he should say that,” Offit said. “But he didn’t.”
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