US CDC makes COVID-19 jabs optional for healthy children
The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention is no longer recommending COVID-19 vaccines as part of a regular schedule but may still be given to healthy children if parents and doctors agree that it is needed.
In its May 29 post on its website, the CDC classified vaccination for COVID-19 as “shared clinical decision-making” for children ages 6 months to 17 years of age “who are NOT moderately or severely immunocompromised.”
It explained that decisions in getting a COVID-19 jab were now “individually based and informed by a decision process between the health care provider and the patient or parent/guardian.”
The CDC advisory follows an announcement by Health Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who said that the agency would remove the shots from its immunization schedule.
It had previously recommended updated COVID vaccines for everyone aged six months and older, following the guidance of its panel of outside experts.
In its Jan. 7, 2025, guidelines, the CDC said that “[e]veryone ages 6 months and older should get a 2024–2025 COVID-19 vaccine.”
The agency removed that mandate and now says “Where the parent presents with a desire for their child to be vaccinated, children 6 months and older may receive COVID-19 vaccination.”
Kennedy announcement
Kennedy, who oversees the CDC, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health, had said on Tuesday the recommendations would be dropped.
“As of today, the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule,” Kennedy said in a video posted on the X platform.
The Infectious Diseases Society of America said on Tuesday that removing the recommendation “does the opposite of what Americans have been asking for when it comes to their health—it takes away choices and will negatively impact them.”
It added infants and children may “develop severe disease and may suffer from prolonged symptoms due to long COVID, which can negatively impact their development.”
Nearly 1,900 children up to 18 years of age died of COVID in the United States, according to CDC estimates updated in 2023.
The makers of COVID vaccines available in the United States—Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax—did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Last week, the FDA said it plans to require new clinical trials for approval of annual COVID boosters for healthy Americans under 65, effectively limiting them to older adults and those at risk of developing severe illness.
