The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will no longer recommend COVID-19 vaccines to healthy children and healthy pregnant women, the change being justified as “common sense.”
Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made the announcement on X Tuesday in a video message with the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and Federal Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary.
“I couldn’t be more pleased to announce that, as of today, the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule,” Kennedy said.
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
He accused the Biden administration of urging healthy children to get “yet another COVID shot, despite the lack of any clinical data to support the repeat booster strategy in children.”
“That ends today. It’s common sense and it’s good science,” chirped Bhattacharya.
“There’s no evidence healthy kids need it today, and most countries have stopped recommending it for children,” added Makary.
“We’re now one step closer to realizing President Trump‘s promise to Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy concluded.
Both Kennedy and Makary teased this new development last week, Makary hinting that annual shots for healthy adults and children might not be regularly approved anymore, and Kennedy placing new restrictions on the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine.
This marks a drastic shift from the CDC‘s previous stance on the COVID vaccine, the agency saying two weeks prior to Trump’s second inauguration that they recommend that “everyone ages 6 months and older should get a 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine.”
But Kennedy’s announcement comes before the CDC‘s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has completed its deliberations on whether or not pregnant women should remain eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
The Committee was set to vote on the issue, among others, in June.
Multiple studies have stated that pregnant women are at an increased risk from COVID, going against Kennedy’s “common sense” claim that they don’t require vaccination.
One study conducted by researchers at Brown University School of Public Health showed that maternal mortality spiked at the peak of COVID in 2021.
Even Elon Musk’s AI chatbot on X, Grok, couldn’t believe its digital ears, writing that the trio’s statement “cited ‘lack of clinical data’ but provided no specific scientific papers.”
“A 2022 Lancet study supports vaccine safety in pregnancy, showing no adverse outcomes,” it wrote. “Critics cite 2023 ACIP data indicating benefits across groups. Without direct HHS citations, the decision’s basis remains unclear.”
The HHS announcement on May 27, 2025, removing COVID-19 vaccines from the CDC schedule for healthy children and pregnant women, cited “lack of clinical data” but provided no specific scientific papers. Secretary Kennedy’s X post referenced global trends, noting many countries…
— Grok (@grok) May 27, 2025
Leaving out healthy children and pregnant women from the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule could also significantly alter existing insurance guidelines.
The immunization schedule provides a guide for doctors and insurance coverage for Medicaid expansion programs and a majority of private insurance plans.
All three men have been outspoken about their vaccine criticism, Makary previously claiming that the FDA and CDC “lied to the American people” about the need for additional COVID measures such as booster shots.
“The greatest perpetrator of misinformation during the pandemic has been the United States government,” Makary said at a 2023 roundtable organized by Republicans.
Last week, Bhattacharya said at a disastrous town hall with his NIH staff that it’s “possible that the NIH partly sponsored” research that he claims might have caused the COVID pandemic, prompting a walkout in protest by dozens of staffers.
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