Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is considering removing the COVID-19 vaccine from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) list of recommended vaccines for children.
The news was reported by Politico, which claims to have spoken with two sources familiar with the plan. Kennedy is said to have argued that there are no benefits to vaccinating children against COVID-19.
Before being confirmed as Secretary of HHS, RFK Jr. argued that vaccinating children against COVID-19 would be “reckless,” pointing to a number of studies that showed a zero mortality rate for children without underlying comorbidities.
At present, the CDC recommends children as young as six months receive COVID-19 vaccination with three doses of Pfizer’s mRNA shot or two of Moderna’s. The CDC also recommends an annual booster dose at least eight weeks after the most recent dose.
Most European nations have stopped recommending annual COVID vaccinations for children.
Health authorities in Sweden, for example, argued that the risks of vaccinating children against COVID-19 outweighed the benefits.
At present, no final decision has been made by HHS, but if it is decided to remove the recommendation, it could have far-reaching implications, since states and local authorities, as well as insurance companies, use the CDC’s vaccine schedule for official purposes
At a meeting last week, the CDC’s independent vaccine advisory committee stated that it is considering moving from a universal to a risk-based approach to COVID-19 recommendations. Children are considered to be at very low risk from COVID-19.
Only a small minority of parents are vaccinating their children against COVID-19 in the US. According to CDC data, just 13% of US children have received the most recent COVID shot.