CDC Pulls COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendation for Pregnant Women, Healthy Children

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, announced that the CDC will no longer recommend routine COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women and healthy children.¹

The latest COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1 is starting to spread in the US. | Image credit: Leigh Prather – stock.adobe.com

In a video posted on social media, Kennedy said he “couldn’t be more pleased” to announce the guidance removal alongside Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Marty Makary, MD, MPH, commissioner of the FDA.

“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 the video. “Last year, the Biden administration urged healthy children to get yet another COVID shot despite the lack of any clinical data to support the repeat booster strategy in children.”

However, the CDC website has not gotten the memo. Several hours after Kennedy posted the video, the immunization schedules still recommended at least 1 dose of the latest COVID-19 vaccine in children 6 months and older and in pregnant adults.^2,3

The agency also cited several studies that show women who were pregnant or recently pregnant in 2019 were 2.5 times more likely to be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with COVID-19 than their nonpregnant peers.⁴ The CDC also still stands by the idea that vaccinating against COVID-19, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus while pregnant can reduce the risk of severe illness or hospitalization during the child’s first months of life, citing that more than 75% of babies hospitalized with COVID-19 in a study were born to mothers who did not receive the vaccine.⁵

“We are now one step closer to realizing President Trump’s promise to make America healthy again,” Kennedy claimed.¹

This news comes as the new COVID-19 variant NB.1.8.1 begins to spread in the US.⁶ Cases linked to the variant have been reported in airports from New York to California, according to records from the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data. While these cases mainly stem from incoming international flights, cases of NB.1.8.1 have also been reported by health authorities in other states like Ohio and Hawaii.

The announcement also comes a week after Makary and Vinayak Prasad, MD, MPH, director of the FDA Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, published a letter with a new strategy that would require randomized controlled trials with clinical outcomes—such as symptomatic illness, hospitalization, and death—for healthy individuals aged 6 months to 64 years before granting broader approvals, limiting access to older adults and those at risk of severe illness.⁷ The CDC Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices would typically meet to vote on changes to the immunization schedule or recommendations before a final call, according to Reuters, but the committee did not vote on these changes.⁸

References

1. @SecKennedy. Today, the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from @CDCgov recommended immunization schedule. X. May 27, 2025. Accessed May 27, 2025. https://x.com/SecKennedy/status/1927368440811008138
2. Child and adolescent immunization schedule by age. CDC. November 21, 2024. Accessed May 27, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/imz-schedules/child-adolescent-age.html
3. Adult immunization schedule by age. CDC. November 21, 2024. Accessed May 27, 2025. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/imz-schedules/adult-age.html
4. Allotey J, Stallings E, Bonet M, et al. Clinical manifestations, risk factors, and maternal and perinatal outcomes of coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnancy: living systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2020;370:m3320. doi:10.1136/bmj.m3320
5. Simeone RM, Zambrano LD, Halasa NB, et al. Effectiveness of maternal mRNA COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy against COVID-19-associated hospitalizations in infants aged <6 months during SARS-CoV-2 omicron predominance - 20 states, March 9, 2022-May 31, 2023. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. Published online September 29, 2023. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7239a3
6. Tin A. U.S. reports cases of new COVID variant NB.1.8.1 behind surge in China. CBS News. May 23, 2025. Accessed May 27, 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-reports-cases-new-covid-variant-nb-1-8-1-behind-surge-china/
7. Prasad V, Makary MA. An evidence-based approach to Covid-19 vaccination. N Engl J Med. Published online May 20, 2025. doi:10.1056/NEJMsb2506929
8. Erman M. FDA tightens requirements for COVID vaccine, adding trials for healthy adults. Reuters. May 20, 2025. Accessed May 27, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/fda-sets-new-covid-booster-guidelines-requiring-trials-approvals-healthy-adults-2025-05-20/