Breaking down new COVID-19 vaccine requirements | VERIFY

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced Monday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer recommend routine COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy children and pregnant women.

The move marks a significant shift in national vaccine policy and comes just one week after the Trump administration signaled it would limit approval for seasonal COVID boosters to seniors and others at high risk.

The policy change has raised questions about what this means for families as the fall vaccine season approaches. Let’s verify.

Why do we get yearly COVID shots?

In a recently published article in the New England Journal of Medicine, FDA Commissioner Dr. Martin Makary and vaccine chief Dr. Vinay Prasad wrote that future approvals for updated COVID vaccines will require new clinical trial data demonstrating their safety and effectiveness in healthy children and adults. This could restrict access to annual COVID shots for large portions of the population.

Dr. Robinson explained how the vaccine updates over time.

“It’s very similar to the flu vaccine,” said Dr. Robinson. “The virus may mutate from season to season, so regular vaccination helps maintain immunity.”

Dr. Kohli emphasized the importance of herd immunity in protecting the vulnerable.

“Vaccinating healthy people actually protects the most vulnerable in society because it makes the spread of the virus less efficient,” Kohli said. “Even if I haven’t received a vaccine, if people around me are vaccinated, I’m less likely to get infected.”

Previously, the FDA recommended COVID-19 vaccines for everyone aged 6 months and older. Under the new plan, shots for healthy kids and adults will need to go through placebo-controlled clinical trials before they can get approved.

“The recommendations are still that individuals 6 months and older are eligible for COVID vaccination,” Robinson said. “At this point, we continue to follow those guidelines and recommend vaccination for those groups.”

If the proposed changes are implemented, access to updated COVID-19 vaccines for healthy individuals could be delayed or limited. Health officials urge anyone with questions about their eligibility or risk to consult their primary care provider.

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