States are now able to access updated coronavirus vaccines through a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention program serving nearly half the nation’s children after it had been in limbo for nearly a month, according to an email obtained by The Washington Post.
Earlier Wednesday, The Post reported that ordering was set to begin as early as Wednesday or Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly. Within a few hours, an email sent out shortly before 5 p.m. from a CDC official informed partners in the federal program that covid-19 vaccines were “now available for ordering.”
“Dear Partners, CDC has opened COVID-19 vaccine ordering for the 2026–2027 season,” the email said. It said orders were no longer being filled for last season’s vaccines.
Doctors had been unable to obtain shots for low-income children as infections rise in parts of the country even though the Food and Drug Administration had approved the updated vaccine last month. States are expected to be able to start ordering shots through the Vaccines for Children program, which is administered by the CDC..
The Vaccines for Children program serves children on Medicaid and those without adequate insurance, among others. Opening orders for states would clear a key hurdle, although providers would still need to receive shipments before administering doses.
Earlier Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately comment on the prospect of coronavirus vaccine ordering beginning soon.
Pediatricians like Deborah Greenhouse, part of a practice in Columbia, South Carolina, say they have families that are eligible to have their children get the vaccines through the federal program, “but we have no ability to make that happen,” she said. “It’s incredibly frustrating.”
At the same time, the practice has been able to order vaccine for children covered by private insurance.
“The idea of having an inequity in my practice, for some patients to be able to get the shots and some patients are not, that’s a gut punch for people like me,” Greenhouse said.
CDC career officials had previously completed preparations to make the vaccines available, leaving what people familiar with the process described as essentially pushing a button to open ordering, according to two other people familiar with the matter. But the shots had not yet been made available.
The delay had appeared to be linked in part to a slowdown in approving CDC’s clinical guidance for health care professionals and public health officials on using the vaccine, according to a federal health official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share internal discussions. The guidance was sent for review to an external expert, the person said.
That clinical guidance was posted online late Wednesday. A note at the top of the webpage states that “because of legal uncertainties and inquiries, the CDC states the recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination from the July 2025 immunization schedule remain in effect for the 2026-2027 respiratory illness season.”
The CDC is pointingto the earlier guidance for covid vaccination stating that the updated shot is recommended for all adults ages 18 years and older. Healthy children should first discuss whether to get a shot with a doctor or other health professional.
During President Donald Trump’s second term, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had moved to fundamentally alter the nation’s vaccine policy. But many of his efforts were halted by a federal judge, including an influential panel’s switch from a universal coronavirus vaccine recommendation to a more restrictive approach that everyone should first consult with a health care provider before getting a shot.
Kennedy has made two changes to coronavirus shot recommendations that weren’t paused by the court: revisions regarding healthy children and pregnant women. There is currently no recommendation for pregnant women, and the vaccine is recommended for healthy children through shared decision-making, meaning parents and children should talk with their health providers to decide whether to get vaccinated.
Referring to the delay, Emily Hilliard, a HHS spokeswoman, said in an earlier statement that CDC “has not yet finalized procurement decisions for COVID-19 vaccines” through the federal program. “HHS and CDC are committed to responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources and to ensuring that vaccines purchased through federally funded programs are appropriate for the populations those programs serve,” the statement read.
Participating doctors say they would normally have vaccinated dozens of children in their practices by now. Opening orders would clear a key hurdle, although providers would still need to receive shipments before administering doses.
A spokeswoman for the Minnesota Department of Health said earlier Wednesday that the state had been told “that CDC leadership approval is needed before distribution of the vaccine can begin.”
New York state health officials had already told participating providers they could use covid-19 vaccine doses that had been ordered for privately insured patients for those patients in the federal program; providers would replace those doses once the federal program is reopened, state officials said.
“Vaccination remains the best protection against serious illness from COVID and other respiratory illnesses, especially for young children,” New York state health department spokeswoman Cadence Acquaviva said in a statement. “A child’s ability to receive a recommended vaccine should not depend on their family’s income.”
Although most covid-19 infections in children are mild, and the severity of disease among children has decreased over time, children can have severe outcomes, including hospitalization, intensive care and death.
A September 2025study in Pediatrics that analyzed data on hospitalizations among children found that of 2,490 children hospitalized for covid-19 from Oct. 1, 2022, to April 30, 2024, nearly half were children between six and 23 months old.
Elias Kass, a naturopathic clinician who practices in Seattle, said his practice would have been reaching out weeks ago to families with babies that just turned 6 months old so they could get their first covid shot, he said.
“We would normally be giving 50 covid doses a day because usually, with the respiratory season, we front-load before the season gets going,” Kass said.
The coronavirus vaccines were first approved during Trump’s first administration. He referred to them as a “modern-day miracle.” Kennedy, the founder of a prominent anti-vaccine group, had previously criticized coronavirus shots.
In the absence of new federal recommendations for this season’s covid shots, major medical societies banded together to provide comprehensive guidance for all respiratory viruses. The American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending the updated vaccine for all children ages 6 months through 23 months.
For older children, the medical group recommends those at higher risk for severe covid get vaccinated, and even healthy children not in risk groups should be offered a dose to protect them against the disease.
Uptake of the covid vaccine among children has been generally limited. Last year’s data shows that less than 10 percentof children were up-to-date with the 2025-2026 covid vaccine, according to the CDC.
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