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The federal government’s removal of COVID-19 vaccines from the routine immunization schedule for healthy children and people who are pregnant ignores independent medical experts and leaves children at risk, according to AAP leaders.
“By removing the recommendation, the decision could strip families of choice,” said Sean T. O’Leary, M.D., M.P.H., FAAP, chair of the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases. “Those who want to vaccinate may no longer be able to, as the implications for insurance coverage and access remain unclear. … What is clear is that pregnant women, infants and young children are at higher risk of hospitalization from COVID, and the safety of the COVID vaccine has been widely demonstrated.”
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made the announcement in a one-minute video on social media Tuesday morning, flanked by the heads of the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“We’re now one step closer to realizing President Trump’s promise to make America healthy again,” Kennedy said.
The officials claimed there is no evidence healthy children need the vaccine. However, 41% of children ages 6 months to 17 years hospitalized with COVID from October 2022 to April 2024 did not have a known underlying condition, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data.
Last week, a CDC expert also said COVID “is a major cause of pediatric hospitalizations, particularly in children under 2 (years), many of which don’t have any underlying medical conditions.”
An AAP analysis of data collected by HHS found that 11,199 children were admitted to the hospital with COVID during the 2024-’25 respiratory virus season, 7,746 of whom were under age 5 years.
The decision to exclude healthy people who are pregnant means infants under 6 months no longer would have protection despite having COVID hospitalization rates similar to people ages 65-74 years. It also leaves pregnant people vulnerable, as the CDC considers pregnancy a risk factor for severe disease.
“As ob-gyns who treat patients every day, we have seen firsthand how dangerous COVID-19 infection can be during pregnancy and for newborns who depend on maternal antibodies from the vaccine for protection,” said Steven J. Fleischman, M.D., FACOG, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. “We also understand that despite the change in recommendations from HHS, the science has not changed. It is very clear that COVID-19 infection during pregnancy can be catastrophic and lead to major disability, and it can cause devastating consequences for families. The COVID-19 vaccine is safe during pregnancy, and vaccination can protect our patients and their infants after birth.”
Tuesday’s move comes a week after the FDA announced vaccine manufacturers would need to conduct new randomized, controlled trials if they wanted approval of their COVID vaccines for healthy people under 65 years. That move not only leaves children vulnerable but calls into question whether health care workers without underlying conditions will be eligible for vaccination, Dr. O’Leary said.
He also lamented health officials circumventing the advice of the CDC’s vaccine advisers, who were due to make recommendations in June as to who should be vaccinated.
“This decision bypasses a long-established, evidence-based process used to ensure vaccine safety and ignores the expertise of independent medical experts, including members of CDC committees who are examining the evidence regarding the vaccine to make recommendations for the fall,” Dr. O’Leary said.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices already was considering making a risk-based recommendation, but had indicated it planned to make vaccines available to anyone who wants one.
