INDIANA – US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Tuesday that COVID-19 vaccines are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women. The announcement, made in a 58-second video posted on the social media site X, stated that Kennedy removed COVID-19 shots from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommendations for these groups.
No CDC officials were present in the video, and the CDC referred all questions about the announcement to Secretary Kennedy and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Details regarding the decision-making process were not immediately released, and HHS officials have not yet responded to inquiries.
The move has been met with immediate concern and confusion from several public health experts. Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, commented, “There’s no new data or information, just them flying by the seat of their pants”.
Previously, US health officials, following recommendations from infectious disease experts, had been urging annual COVID-19 boosters for all Americans aged 6 months and older.
