Local health experts weigh in on recent COVID-19 vaccine recommendation changes
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) – On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) modified its existing standards surrounding the COVID vaccine.
Following this, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the vaccine will no longer be recommended for pregnant women and healthy children on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website. The new CDC guidelines still recommend the vaccine for folks ages 65 or older and those with pre-existing medical conditions.
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Microbiotics and Immunology at the University of Rochester Dr. Jennifer Nayak explained how this decision does not fall in line with how guidelines changes are traditionally addressed.
'The current recommendations bypass this really critical review of the data,' Nayak said. 'So as a physician, I'm taking a wait and see approach'
In past scenarios, should the CDC aim to change vaccine recommendations, it would seek out research and advice compiled by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Nayak says ACIP was slated to discuss new recommendations for the COVID-19 vaccine in late June.
Because of this, Nayak expressed her worries about the potential effects of this decision.
'By removing the recommendation for pregnant women to be vaccinated, you're not only increasing risk for the mom, but you're also increasing risk for the newborn infant,' Nayak said.
She also shared her thoughts on how this may impact children who are no longer recommended to get the vaccine.
'We know that children who are hospitalized with COVID-19, about 41% of them don't have a known preexisting condition,' Nayak said. 'When you limit vaccination to only children who have preexisting conditions, you're going to miss some of the children who will get more seriously ill with this virus.'
Nayak still looks forward to reviewing the recommendations provided by ACIP following their committee meeting next month.
'I do hope that going forward, we're able to sit down and reevaluate the data following the standard approach to come up with recommendations for how to best go about protecting people from both COVID-19 as well as other infectious diseases,' Nayak said.
The FDA approved a new COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Moderna earlier this week under the new recommendations and guidelines. The full list of CDC recommendations for the COVID-19 vaccine can be found here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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