Covid-19 shots for kids still recommended by US paediatric group in break with CDC
The group said it recommends the Covid-19 shot for children ages 6 to 23 months.
WASHINGTON – The American Academy of Paediatrics updated its recommendations for immunisations on Aug 19, including calling for Covid-19 shots for healthy kids, diverging from controversial advice from the federal government.
The group said it recommends the Covid-19 shot for children ages 6 to 23 months.
Earlier in 2025, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr changed advice that had been in place since the pandemic, saying
healthy kids and pregnant women should not receive the vaccine.
AAP has released its own recommendations since the 1930s.
The group broke from the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in 2025 after Mr Kennedy
replaced the members of an influential vaccine panel with people who have spread misinformation around vaccines.
The revamped Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices – or Acip – said it would reevaluate the childhood immunisation schedule at a meeting in June.
Mr Kennedy's moves around vaccines have raised concern among public health experts, who have warned lifesaving shots could become harder to access.
In response, medical groups have taken additional steps to publicise their vaccine guidelines and have urged insurers to cover shots they recommend.
'The AAP will continue to provide recommendations for immunisations that are rooted in science and are in the best interest of the health of infants, children and adolescents,' AAP President Susan Kressly said in a statement.
HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon said in response to the new schedule that the group 'is undermining national immunisation policymaking with baseless political attacks.'
He added it should remove 'conflict-of-interest safeguards and keep its publications free from financial influence,' without further elaborating.
AAP said it had no conflicts of interest and has been making vaccine recommendations longer than Acip has existed.
In May, the CDC updated its website to say healthy children 'may receive Covid-19 vaccination, informed by the clinical judgment of a health-care provider.'
Previously, it recommended everyone 6 months or older get vaccinated.
In its schedule, AAP also removed a hepatitis vaccine that is no longer available, and recommended children under 8 months old receive the RSV vaccine.
It called for influenza shots for children as young as 6 months ahead of the flu season.
Kids between 9 and 12 years old should receive the human papillomavirus vaccine, up from the previous recommendation of a starting dose at 11 years, according to the new guidelines.
The changes in vaccination schedules comes as confusion mounts for parents.
Acip decides which shots will be covered by insurance companies or federally funded through the Vaccines for Children Programme.
By breaking with Acip, questions remain on which shots will be covered by insurance or readily available in clinics.
'The AAP urges every insurer to cover all the vaccines that are included in this immunisation schedule,' Ms Kressly said.
A new group formed after Mr Kennedy revamped Acip is also trying to guide which shots are recommended.
The Vaccine Integrity Project, led by University of Minnesota researchers and public health officials, gathered existing data on vaccines for Covid-19, RSV and flu shots and presented their findings on Aug 19 to professional societies, such as AAP, to help the organisations to develop their schedules.
There are limitations in the data that the researchers were able to analyse.
The Vaccine Integrity Project wasn't able to look at unpublished vaccine trial data or ongoing trials, and only analysed data presented to Acip in the past or peer reviewed, published literature.
The group found no safety concerns over pregnant women taking the Covid-19 vaccine and that the shot was effective in preventing hospitalisations for children.
Dr Jake Scott, an infectious disease specialist at Stanford University, said the group's work is ongoing. BLOOMBERG
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Staff member found with active TB after screening at 2 pre-schools; no children diagnosed so far: CDA
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox There is 'currently no evidence of spread within the pre-schools', CDA said. SINGAPORE - A staff member at the MindChamps PreSchool in East Coast has been diagnosed with active tuberculosis after a screening of children and staff there, as well as at the MapleBear Toa Payoh. None of the children at either pre-school have tested positive so far, and there is 'currently no evidence of spread within the pre-schools', said the Communicable Diseases Agency (CDA) in a statement on Aug 20. The agency conducted screenings at the MindChamps and MapleBear pre-schools on Aug 13 and Aug 15 respectively, after a pre-school teacher who had taught at both schools had tested positive for the disease. The staff member who was newly diagnosed from the screenings is a household contact of the pre-school teacher, which the CDA was informed about on July 15. 'The individual is currently asymptomatic and is on medical leave. She has commenced TB treatment and will be non-infectious after completing two weeks of treatment,' CDA said. As a precaution, CDA said it has started contact tracing ahead of laboratory confirmation of the results, and contacted the preschool to initiate contact tracing to identify staff and students with close and prolonged contact with the newly diagnosed case. Also, four other staff members likely have latent TB infection after their blood tests came back positive for the disease, but showed no symptoms. People with latent TB do not have symptoms and cannot spread TB to others, CDA said. A total of 115 contacts of the first TB patient were identified across both pre-schools, with 93 undergoing the screenings at the schools and 21 having scheduled appointments to do so at the National TB Screening Centre, and one screened at a private laboratory. Among the 93 tested at the schools, 80 tested negative, while eight people - six children and two staff members - had inconclusive results and will undergo testing again.
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
New policy in China fuels rise in fertility treatments
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox China is keen to encourage births and build a fertility support system as it moves from a phase of population growth to a phase of decline. Unable to conceive naturally, Ms Wang, a resident of Changchun in Northeast China's Jilin province, could not opt for fertility treatment due to the hefty cost — sometimes more than 20,000 yuan (S$3,580) per cycle. So when she learned that assisted reproductive services had been included in the province's medical insurance program, she hesitated no more. Ms Wang was reimbursed 10,263 yuan for her treatment session through medical insurance, which was nearly 70 per cent of the cost incurred. Since Jilin province introduced the reimbursement policy in July 2024, nearly 5,800 women have benefited, saving over 23 million yuan in total, according to the provincial healthcare security bureau. Beijing became the first region in the country to include reproductive technologies in its healthcare insurance programme in July 2023. Now, all 31 provincial-level regions offer similar facilities. 'Last year alone, these reimbursement policies benefited over 1 million people, helping them achieve their fertility goals,' said Ms Liu Juan, deputy director of the National Healthcare Security Administration's benefits and reimbursement department. Reimbursement ratios and coverage vary by region. For example, Beijing now covers 16 types of fertility treatments with a reimbursement rate of up to 70 per cent. In Jiangxi province, secondary hospitals offer 80 to 95 per cent coverage, while top-tier hospitals reimburse 60 to 80 per cent. 'Some provinces have also included labour pain relief in insurance programs, easing both financial and physical burdens for pregnant women,' Ms Liu said during a recent press conference. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Emergency broadcast system to alert S'pore public of disasters on their mobile phones: Edwin Tong Singapore New annual course will groom future leaders of Singapore's Chinese community Singapore Grab users in Singapore shocked by fares of over $1,000 due to display glitch Singapore Singapore indie cinema The Projector owes over $1.2m to creditors Life Five things to do at Singapore Night Festival – from kampung chilling to spotting luminous crabs Asia Calls to cut ties: Malaysia flag furore tests PH-BN relations Singapore Proposals sought to develop Changi East Urban District next to T5 Business New CDC job-matching drive may bring overlooked front-line roles closer to applicants: Experts 'We have also accelerated the process of formulating pricing guidelines for services such as neonatal care and family-accompanied childbirth to help improve pediatric and obstetric services,' she said. China is keen to encourage births and build a fertility support system as the nation has gradually moved from a phase of population growth to a phase of decline, authorities said. Ms He Dan, director of the China Population and Development Research Centre, cited data from the World Health Organisation, which said the optimal childbearing age range is 20 to 34 for women and 25 to 34 for men. Data shows that in 2020, Chinese people's average age for first marriage stood at 28.7 years, while the average age for first-time mothers was 29.7. About 1 million women of reproductive age lose fertility annually due to cancer treatments. The national infertility rate has also climbed from 12 per cent in 2007 to 18 percent in 2020, Ms He said in a signed article. She said that mainstream fertility preservation technologies include egg freezing, in vitro fertilization, embryo cryopreservation for women and sperm freezing for men. 'It is crucial to advance reproductive health research and clinical applications while expanding insurance coverage for safe, reliable and affordable assisted reproductive services,' she added. In Jiangxi province, which began reimbursing fertility treatments in June 2024, public insurance covered at least 60 per cent of costs as of April, benefiting nearly 88,000 people. Jiangxi Maternal and Child Health Hospital reproductive health expert Tian Lifeng noted a marked increase in the number of infertile couples and women who get married at a relatively advanced age seeking consultations through online and offline channels. Since the policy's implementation, the number of monthly outpatient visits has increased by 15 to 20 per cent, the expert said. CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
Straits Times
12 hours ago
- Straits Times
Johor Regent orders anti-bullying campaign in the state
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Tunku Ismail Ibrahim and his son, Raja Muda Johor Tunku Iskandar Tunku Ismail, paid a visit to a 10-year-old nasal cancer patient who had been bullied at two different schools. JOHOR BAHRU - The Regent of Johor visited a 10-year-old nasal cancer patient who had been bullied at two different schools – and immediately decreed an 'all-out anti-bullying' campaign in the southern Malaysian state. In a Facebook post on Aug 19 after visiting the boy, Tunku Ismail Ibrahim ordered the authorities to take firm action to put an end to bullying, especially in schools. 'Bullying must be curbed, and stricter enforcement measures must be implemented immediately to ensure that educational institutions remain safe for children,' he said in the post. Tunku Ismail was accompanied to the hospital in Larkin by his son, Raja Muda Johor Tunku Iskandar Tunku Ismail as well as Johor Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi and state police chief Commissioner Ab Rahaman Arsad. The boy is said to have been bullied at both his religious school and primary school in the district of Skudai. 'He cries in his sleep because of nightmares after being physically assaulted. The first incident was at his religious school in February this year, while the second was at his school earlier this month involving two different boys,' his mother said. She said her son had been looking forward to the school term since late 2024 as he had missed a large part of his education due to his nasal cancer. Since 2022, he has been frequently admitted to and discharged from hospitals for treatment and surgery. 'The doctors told us recently that he is recovering from cancer and can return to school. 'He was looking forward to it and even wanted to play football at school, as he is a big Liverpool fan. But when the bullying started, everything changed,' she said. Asked if she would consider transferring him to another school, she said there was no reason for the boy to move. 'Why should my son change schools? He is the victim. He is looking forward to returning to school, but he still fears facing the two bullies,' she said. The child is now undergoing counselling sessions under the state Welfare Department. Meanwhile, Datuk Onn Hafiz said the state government would adopt a zero-tolerance stance against bullying, in line with the Regent's directive. The state government will heed his command, he said. He added that all relevant agencies, including the police, schools under the Education Ministry and religious schools, would be roped in. 'Let this be a stern warning to all bullies – we will not tolerate such behaviour. Bullying has no place in our society,' he said. Comm Ab Rahaman, meanwhile, said police have recorded statements from seven people, including the medical officer treating the boy, his family members and witnesses. 'The victim is still warded and under medical observation, so the hospital has not yet issued a complete report,' he said. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
