COVID Vaccine Guidance May Change: 3 Things to Know Right Now
May 19, 2025 – COVID-19 vaccines are making headlines, as government officials appear poised to scale back recommendations and the FDA approved the Novavax vaccine with new limitations.
Here's what infectious disease doctors are saying and how any of this could affect you.
1. Your yearly COVID booster recommendation may change.
A weekend FDA approval of the COVID vaccine Novavax, and some behind-the-scenes signals from Washington last week, suggest that the government may stop recommending annual fall COVID shots for some people, including children.
Novavax, used under emergency authorization since 2022, now has full approval for adults 65 and older and high-risk people ages 12 and up. The approval came after TheWall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services plans to stop recommending routine COVID shots for pregnant people and children, citing people familiar with the matter.
"Even if they go that route – and I don't know that they will – but even if they do, there will always be a proviso that says any parent who wishes their child to be protected against COVID can receive the vaccine," said William Schaffner, MD, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.
Scientists have debated whether to keep recommending the vaccine for everyone. In September, the World Health Organization said that healthy adults and children with at least one vaccination dose no longer needed routine revaccination.
If guidelines change, insurers could drop coverage for those no longer recommended, though they may choose to continue it.
A meeting of independent advisers to the CDC in June will likely be the next clue about what's ahead.
2. Chances are you need a COVID shot now, anyway.
Another summer COVID surge is predicted. Last year, positive COVID tests skyrocketed starting in mid-May, peaking at nearly 18% in August. That's the second highest weekly test positivity rate on record at the CDC.
"We all know about the winter surge, but there's also a summer surge, which can be just as high," said Schaffner. "There are standing recommendations from the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices that people who are at high risk should actually receive two doses a year."
If you're 65 or older or you have a chronic medical condition, you "should think seriously about getting a COVID vaccine now and then another one in the fall," Schaffner said. The CDC list of chronic medical conditions includes:
Diabetes
Lung conditions
Liver disease
Kidney disease
Obesity
Heart disease
Mental health problems
Cancer
Worth noting: The list of conditions warranting twice-yearly COVID shots is so broad that much of the U.S. population qualifies – and would likely continue to qualify even if vaccine guidance changes.
"All those persons, should they become infected with COVID, have a greater likelihood of developing more serious illness. And by serious, we mean requiring hospitalization," Schaffner said.
At the height of last summer's COVID surge, there were more than 1,300 weekly deaths.
3. If you're pregnant, you should consider a COVID shot now, too.
"My crystal ball is cloudy, I can't anticipate how my colleagues will vote, but I suspect that the recommendation will continue" for pregnant people, Schaffner said.
That's because babies from newborn to 6 months old are among those most often hospitalized for severe COVID. COVID vaccination during pregnancy cuts hospitalization risk by 52%.
When a pregnant person gets vaccinated, antibodies travel through the placenta and are passed to the fetus, protecting the newborn during the first critical months of life.
Pregnant people are also at high risk of severe COVID, "which can make them more susceptible to pregnancy complications and even death," said Christopher Zahn, MD, chief of clinical practice for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. "Vaccination remains the best way for them to protect themselves and their pregnancy."
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