Latest news with #CDC
2 hours ago
- Health
Fmr. COVID response coordinator on RFK Jr.'s changes to vaccine schedule
ABC News' Linsey Davis spoke with Dr. Deborah Birx about RFK Jr.'s changes to the CDC's immunization schedule that no longer recommends COVID shots for healthy children and pregnant women.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
RFK Jr. says annual COVID-19 shots no longer advised for healthy children and pregnant women – a public health expert explains the new guidance
On May 27, 2025, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer include the COVID-19 vaccine on the list of immunizations it recommends for healthy children and pregnant women. The announcement, made in a video posted on the social platform X, comes on the heels of another announcement, made on May 20, in which the Food and Drug Administration revealed that it will approve new versions of the vaccine only for adults 65 years of age and older and for people with one or more risk factors for severe COVID-19 outcomes. The agency will require vaccine manufacturers to conduct clinical trials to demonstrate that the vaccine benefits low-risk groups. The Conversation U.S. asked Libby Richards, a nursing professor from Purdue University involved in public health promotion, to explain what these announcements mean for the general public. Currently, getting a yearly COVID-19 vaccine is recommended for everyone ages 6 months and older, regardless of their health risk. In the video announcing the plan to remove the vaccine from the CDC's recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and healthy pregnant women, Kennedy spoke alongside National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary. The trio cited a lack of evidence to support vaccinating healthy children. They did not explain the reason for the change to the vaccine schedule for pregnant people, who have previously been considered at high-risk for severe COVID-19. Similarly, in the FDA announcement made a week prior, Makary and the agency's head of vaccines, Vinay Prasad, said that public health trends now support limiting vaccines to people at high risk of serious illness instead of a universal COVID-19 vaccination strategy. Many public health experts and professional health care associations have raised concerns about Kennedy's latest announcement, saying it contradicts studies showing that COVID-19 vaccination benefits pregnant people and children. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, considered the premier professional organization for that medical specialty, reinforced the importance of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy, especially to protect infants after birth. Likewise, the American Academy of Pediatrics pointed to the data on hospitalizations of children with COVID-19 during the 2024-to-2025 respiratory virus season as evidence for the importance of vaccination. Kennedy's announcement on children and pregnant women comes roughly a month ahead of a planned meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a panel of vaccine experts that offers guidance to the CDC on vaccine policy. The meeting was set to review guidance for the 2025-to-2026 COVID-19 vaccines. It's not typical for the CDC to alter its recommendations without input from the committee. FDA officials Makary and Prasad also strayed from past established vaccine regulatory processes in announcing the FDA's new stance on recommendations for healthy people under age 65. Usually, the FDA broadly approves a vaccine based on whether it is safe and effective, and decisions on who should be eligible to receive it are left to the CDC, which bases its decision on the advisory committee's research-based guidance. The advisory committee was expected to recommend a risk-based approach for the COVID-19 vaccine, but it was also expected to recommend allowing low-risk people to get annual COVID-19 vaccines if they want to. The CDC's and FDA's new policies on the vaccine will likely make it difficult for healthy people to get the vaccine. The CDC lists several medical conditions and other factors that increase peoples' risk for severe COVID-19. These conditions include cancer, diabetes, heart disease, obesity, chronic kidney disease and some lung conditions like COPD and asthma. Pregnancy is also on the list. The article authored by Makary and Prasad describing the FDA's new stance on the vaccine also contain a lengthy list of risk factors and notes that about 100 million to 200 million people will fall into this category and will thus be eligible to get the vaccine. Pregnancy is included. Reversing the recommendation for vaccinating healthy pregnant women thus contradicts the new framework described by the FDA. Studies have documented that COVID-19 vaccines are safe during pregnancy and may reduce the risk of stillbirth. A study published in May 2025 using data from 26,783 pregnancies found a link between COVID-19 infection before and during pregnancy and an increased risk for spontaneous abortions. Importantly, a 2024 analysis of 120 studies including a total of 168,444 pregnant women with COVID-19 infections did not find enough evidence to suggest the infections are a direct cause of early pregnancy loss. Nonetheless, the authors did state that COVID-19 vaccination remains a crucial preventive measure for pregnant women to reduce the overall risk of serious complications in pregnancy due to infection. Immune changes during pregnancy increase the risk of severe illness from respiratory viruses. Vaccination during pregnancy also provides protection to the fetus that lasts into the first few months of life and is associated with a lower risk of COVID-19 related hospitalization among infants. The changes to the CDC's and the FDA's plan for COVID-19 vaccines also leave out an important group – caregivers and household members of people at high risk of severe illness from infection. This omission leaves high-risk people more vulnerable to exposure to COVID-19 from healthy people they regularly interact with. Multiple countries with risk-based vaccination policies do include this group. High-risk children age 6 months and older who have conditions that increase the risk of severe COVID-19 are still eligible for the vaccine. Existing vaccines already on the market will remain available, but it is unclear how long they will stay authorized and how the change in vaccine policy will affect childhood vaccination overall. To date, millions of children have safely received the COVID-19 vaccine. Data on whether children benefit from annual COVD-19 vaccines is less clear. Parents and clinicians make vaccination decisions by weighing potential risks with potential benefits. Not automatically. Kennedy's announcement does not broadly address healthy adults, but under the new FDA framework, healthy adults who wish to receive the fall COVID-19 vaccine will likely face obstacles. Health care providers can administer vaccines 'off-label', but insurance coverage is widely based on FDA recommendations. The new, narrower FDA approval will likely reduce both access to COVID-19 vaccines for the general public and insurance coverage for COVID-19 vaccines. Under the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance providers are required to fully cover the cost of any vaccine endorsed by the CDC. Kennedy's announcement will likely limit insurance coverage for COVID-19 vaccination. Overall, the move to focus on individual risks and benefits may overlook broader public health benefits. Communities with higher vaccination rates have fewer opportunities to spread the virus. This is an updated version of an article originally published on May 22, 2025. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Libby Richards, Purdue University Read more: FDA will approve COVID-19 vaccine only for older adults and high-risk groups – a public health expert explains the new rules Vaccines against COVID-19, the seasonal flu and RSV are our best chance of preventing a winter surge Why pregnant people should get vaccinated for COVID-19 – a maternal care expert explains Libby Richards has received funding from the American Nurses Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- Health
- San Francisco Chronicle
Can I still get a COVID vaccine? What to know about federal changes
While the full impact of recent federal changes to COVID vaccine recommendations won't be known for months, many who want to get the shots are likely to face new hurdles, health experts say. The federal government no longer recommends the COVID vaccine for healthy children or pregnant women, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — a longtime vaccine skeptic — announced Tuesday. This follows last week's announcement by the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that the FDA will limit access to the COVID vaccine to adults 65 and older and people with underlying medical conditions only. The changes circumvent longstanding public health protocols for how vaccine recommendations are made to the American public, which for decades have been shaped by scientific advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The advisers — an outside panel of doctors, vaccine researchers and other public health experts on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) — review vaccine data and make recommendations to the CDC director. The administration's unilateral decision to restrict access to the COVID vaccine was made without this input. It likely means millions of Americans who are not part of the recommended groups — such as healthy adults under 65 and healthy children — may find it harder to get the shots and may have to pay for it out of pocket, which can cost around $200. Health insurers typically only cover vaccines that are recommended by the federal government. 'That is probably the biggest issue,' said Dr. John Swartzberg, a clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases and vaccinology at UC Berkeley School of Public Health. 'The vaccines may not be as readily available, and won't be for free, and insurance companies may not pay for them.' How exactly this will play out at pharmacies and health care providers is not yet clear. Much of it will depend on how individual insurers and providers proceed. Insurers could decide to continue covering the vaccine for everyone even though the federal recommendations have changed. Providers could keep making the vaccine available to everyone, but start requiring people to show they are over 65 or have an underlying condition — which is what providers had to do in early 2021, when vaccine supply was scarce and had to be prioritized for the highest risk people. 'Big providers like Kaiser Permanente could decide they're going to make the vaccine available to pregnant women and children and encourage people to get it,' said Dr. Art Reingold, a professor of epidemiology at UC Berkeley School of Public Health who previously served on the federal vaccine advisory panel to the CDC. 'If you're fortunate enough to have that kind of provider, presumably your access to the vaccine won't change. If, on the other hand, you are in a system that decides, 'The federal government is not recommending it and we're not paying for it,' that's a problem. So it may depend on what kind of health insurance you have and where you get your health care.' Blue Shield of California, one of the largest health insurers in California with nearly 6 million members, said Wednesday it will continue to cover the COVID vaccine for everyone 6 months and older. 'Despite recent federal policy change on COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy children and pregnant women, Blue Shield of California will continue to cover COVID-19 vaccines for all eligible members,' the insurer said in a statement. 'The decision on whether to receive a COVID-19 vaccine is between our member and their provider. Blue Shield does not require prior authorization for COVID-19 vaccines.' Kaiser Permanente on Wednesday said it is following current guidance for the 2024-25 COVID vaccine, which recommends the shot for everyone 6 months and older. "We are aware of the potential for changes to COVID vaccination recommendations by federal health agencies," Kaiser said in a statement. "At this time, no formal guidance has been issued by the CDC for the 2025-26 respiratory virus season. We anticipate formal guidance following the June 2025 meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices." Healthy adults under 65 and healthy children may need to get a prescription from a doctor or pharmacist to obtain the vaccine. This may be considered off-label use, which means a medication is prescribed for something other than what the FDA has approved it for. 'Health care providers can prescribe medications and vaccines that are off label, but whether you can easily find someone who will, or whether that'll obstruct your access … I don't know whether there will be additional obstacles other than having to pay for it, which for many people is a big obstacle,' Reingold said.
3 hours ago
- Health
What we know -- and don't know -- about who will be able to get COVID-19 shots
Want a COVID-19 vaccination this fall? For many Americans, it's not clear how easy it will be to get one – or if they've lost the choice. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who was a longtime anti-vaccine activist, said this week that the shots are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women, usurping a decision normally made by scientific experts, not political appointees. The announcement follows an earlier Trump administration step to limit COVID-19 vaccinations among healthy people under age 65. Until now, the U.S. – following guidance from independent experts who advise the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – has recommended yearly COVID-19 vaccinations for everyone age 6 months and older. Together, the moves have left health experts, vaccine makers and insurers uncertain about what to advise and what comes next. 'It's going to add a lot of confusion overall,' said Ajay Sethi, an epidemiologist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Some of this season's vaccine is still available. Insurance industry experts say if people had insurance coverage before Kennedy's announcement, it's highly unlikely that would have ended instantly based on the secretary's video announcement. That means if someone could find a shot, they'd likely be able to get one for now. Who will be able to get what vaccines this fall is still unclear. Vaccine manufacturers plan to issue updated COVID-19 shots in the late summer or fall. But the Food and Drug Administration has said it plans to limit approval of seasonal shots to seniors and others at high risk, pending more studies of everyone else. Even if the U.S. approves vaccines only for certain groups, it still may be possible for others to get the shot depending on the outcome of upcoming advisory meetings, regulatory moves and decisions from insurers and employers. Insurers base coverage decisions on the recommendations of that CDC panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. It's not clear what role that panel now will play. Paying out of pocket could cost about $200. But some insurers and employers may decide to still cover the shots regardless of the new recommendations, said Jen Kates, a senior vice president at the non-profit KFF, which studies health care issues. She noted that they may view the expense as worthwhile if it avoids a higher bill from someone hospitalized by the coronavirus. The FDA published a list of health conditions it said would qualify, including asthma, cancer, diabetes, obesity and physical inactivity. The CDC has a more extensive list. But, again, it isn't yet known how this will play out. For example, it could be hard for people to prove they're qualified. If they're vaccinated at a drugstore, for instance, the pharmacist wouldn't normally know about underlying health problems or even ask. Kates said it's unclear whether Kennedy's move would affect whether doctors recommend the shot. And Sethi, the UW-Madison expert, said 'this elephant in the room' is that blocking vaccination to the healthy may mean people who have a risk factor and simply don't know it will miss out. Adding to the confusion, the FDA included pregnancy and recent pregnancy on the list of conditions that would qualify someone for a shot — but Kennedy said that pregnancy was no longer a qualification in his announcement this week. COVID-19 complications during pregnancy can include preterm birth as well as serious illness in the mother, and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine said it 'strongly reaffirms' its recommendation for vaccination during pregnancy.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Local childhood lead poisoning coalition left questioning funding amid federal cuts
ROCHESTER, N.Y (WROC) — In April, the staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) within the agency's 'Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program' were all fired as part of reductions in force. Now, a local coalition which does community work to help prevent lead poisonings in children is left with uncertainty amid federal budget negotiations. The 'Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning' is sounding the alarm after recently being revived thanks to support from a program in the CDC. 'The funding from the CDC for the coalition started in 2023 and then it was supposed to go to 2026 and now we have a big question mark,' Program Director Clare Robinson-Henrie said. The Coalition first formed in 2000 and was a driving force, at the time, behind Rochester's groundbreaking 'lead law,' which passed in 2005 and was implemented in 2006, requiring all rental homes in Rochester to pass a lead test as part of the required Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) process. 'Really it had great success,' Robinson-Henrie said. 'In the city of Rochester, which had some of the highest lead poisoning rates previously went down really dramatically compared to the rest of the state so it really works well.' In 2023, Causewave Community Partners, on behalf of CPLP, was awarded funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) three year opportunity: 'Supporting Communities to Reduce Lead Poisoning.' The Coalition tells News 8 those funds dramatically increased the group's capacity to expand and implement programs. In the last year, CPLP has presented to more than 150 community members and provided thousands of lead poisoning prevention materials county-wide. 'For quite a few years there was no staff for the coalition and so we had great support from Causewave, which is our administrative and fiscal home, but no real staff to take it to the next level,' Robinson-Henrie said. 'So, then came along this wonderful opportunity from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which helped fund staff here, staff support, for the Coalition's work.' Robinson-Henrie tells News 8, in the April 1 announcement of staff reductions at the CDC, the Coalition's program officer was fired. The group does significant work in the community to educate folks about the dangers of lead poisoning; New York State requires children get tested for lead at ages one and two and if elevated levels are found, there can be serious health complications. 'They could be at risk for all sorts of cognitive and behavioral issues, speech and language issues,' Robinson-Henrie said. 'And unfortunately it's cumulative, lead poisoning is cumulative so if they keep getting exposed in their home and nothing changes, then they're just getting more and more of it and it settles into your bones eventually.' 'With kids, especially, they ingest it through their mouths. The lead dust that might be created from paint that is on like a door or a window, it has a lot of wear and tear so that creates invisible lead dust that is heavy, falls to the floor, falls on places where they're walking or crawling or on their toys, whatever else, and they ingest it because, as you said, they're putting a lot of stuff in their mouths,' she adds. It's also not just the CDC with systems in place to work towards mitigating lead exposure: Robinson-Henrie also notes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plays a crucial role to ensure the rules are followed; for example, a contractor doing abatement work inside homes with lead paint. All of these programs could be facing significant cuts as the budget process is currently underway in Washington. 'I know that we are only one of many different organizations to be impacted by the changes on the federal level. And ensure that your congress people are hearing from you, making sure that our U.S. senators, you know Congressman Morelle, know about these issues and that you want to make sure that childhood lead poisoning prevention is funded and can continue through the next 25 years,' Robinson-Henrie said. 'It's tragic because lead poisoning is almost entirely preventable and once a kid is lead poisoned it's really hard to reverse those effects; it's possible for them to thrive and have a full life for sure, I don't want to say that, but their opportunities may be narrowed,' Robinson-Henrie adds. 'To date, we have not seen any plans to reinstate the CDC's Childhood Lead Poisoning program. If these cuts are permanent, it will mean fewer resources to keep Monroe County children safe from lead exposure. The Secretary of Health and Human Services must put children's health first and reinstate the program immediately in order to ensure their vital work is not disrupted further.' Mel Callan, Chair of the Coalition to Prevent Lead Poisoning said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
