(WASHINGTON) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday announced the removal of the COVID-19 vaccine from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s immunization schedule for “healthy children and pregnant women” — a move that could alter guidance for doctors as well as some insurance coverage.
Kennedy, one of the nation’s most publicly recognized vaccine skeptics, made the announcement in a video post on his X account, where he stood between Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya — both of whom are doctors.
“We’re now one step closer to realizing President Trump’s promise to Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy said in the video.
While the text posted alongside the video noted HHS had taken action Tuesday, the official immunization schedule on the CDC website had not changed as of Tuesday afternoon.
The CDC’s immunization schedule is not only a guide for doctors — it also determines insurance coverage for most major private plans and Medicaid expansion programs.
It remains unclear what federal health officials consider “healthy” children or pregnant women.
Pregnancy is listed by the CDC as an underlying condition, so women expecting a child would theoretically be eligible for the shot even under the new FDA vaccine framework released last week.
Last week, the FDA announced that it planned to limit access to future COVID-19 shots only to people over 65 years old or those with an underlying health condition.
ABC News has asked HHS for clarity on Tuesday’s announcement.
Medical leader ‘kind of blindsided by this announcement’
Kennedy’s announcement cut out a process where the CDC’s independent panel of advisors vote for any new or updated recommendations to the immunization schedule. The panel has been expected to vote on the matter in their June meeting. In mid-April, the panel had discussed, and seemed to support, a recommendation that everyone over 6 months should receive an annual COVID vaccine or shift to a model where only those who were high-risk would be eligible.
Typically, the CDC director green-lights new vaccine recommendations, but with the active director role empty while Susan Monarez awaits confirmation for the CDC’s top job, Kennedy announced the new recommendations. Kennedy recently made changes to vaccine recommendations for those traveling abroad to an area with elevated risk of infections with the agency noting, “With pending confirmation of a new CDC Director, these recommendations were adopted by the HHS Secretary on May 13, 2025 and are now official recommendations of the CDC.”
A leader of a medical group that is typically involved in the process for changes to the immunization schedule noted he was “kind of blindsided by this announcement.”
“We were not consulted about this,” Dr. Sean O’Leary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on infectious diseases, told ABC News, referring to the removal of the COVID-19 vaccine from the recommended immunization schedule for children.
“My biggest concern is about the process. This really ignores a long-established, evidence-based process that has been used to make vaccine recommendations in the U.S. It ignores the opinions of the medical experts who help make these recommendations, and it also ignores all of the liaison organizations that work with the [CDC’s advisory panel] to craft these recommendations,” O’Leary said.
The Infectious Diseases Society of America said the decision will have a negative impact.
“Many health insurers rely on federal recommendations to determine coverage, and this decision could make it significantly harder for millions of Americans to access vaccines they want for themselves and their families,” the society said in a statement Tuesday.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said it is “concerned about and extremely disappointed by the announcement.”
“”Following this announcement, we are worried about our patients in the future, who may be less likely to choose vaccination during pregnancy despite the clear and definitive evidence demonstrating its benefit. We are concerned about access implications and what this recommendation will mean for insurance coverage of the COVID-19 vaccine for those who do choose to get vaccinated during pregnancy,” the group said in a statement on Tuesday. “And as ob-gyns, we are very concerned about the potential deterioration of vaccine confidence in the future.”
The number of children who have received the updated COVID vaccine annually has been limited since peak pandemic. An estimated 13% of kids received the most recent COVID vaccine, the latest CDC data from late April shows. At the same time last year, the rate was 14.2%.
The rate of COVID vaccination among pregnant women has also remained lower with 14.4% receiving the most recent COVID vaccine, the latest CDC data from late April shows. At the same time last year, the rate was 12.3%.
Kennedy’s previous comments on COVID-19 vaccine, childhood vaccine schedule
Kennedy has frequently shared views on vaccines — including the COVID-19 vaccine — that are at odds with the consensus of public health researchers and the mainstream scientific community.
In May 2021, Kennedy asked the federal government to revoke its authorization of all COVID-19 vaccines; in December 2021 he falsely claimed that the COVID-19 vaccine was “the deadliest vaccine ever made.”
Kennedy’s announcement comes weeks after he promised senators that he supported the childhood vaccination schedule during his confirmation testimony with the Senate Finance Committee in late January.
“I support vaccines. I support the childhood schedule,” Kennedy said at the time.
“If confirmed, I will do nothing as HHS Secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking vaccines,” he repeatedly told the committee following questions from senators after his testimony.
Kennedy has previously advocated against the recommended vaccine schedule for children.
He has fought for changes through the Children’s Health Defense, a group he founded but resigned as chairman and legal counsel of to become HHS Secretary. Last week, he released his “Make America Healthy Again” report, which included calls for increased scrutiny of the childhood vaccine schedule.
Although the report states that vaccines protect children from infectious diseases, it also claims parents are concerned about their “appropriate use” and their “possible role” in chronic diseases among children.
“Despite the growth of the childhood vaccine schedule, there has been limited scientific inquiry into the links between vaccines and chronic disease, the impacts of vaccine injury, and conflicts of interest in the development of the vaccine schedule. These areas warrant future inquiry,” the report states.
Dozens of studies have failed to find a link between an increased number of vaccines and more chronic disease among children.
Earlier this month, Kennedy said during a House hearing that his “opinions about vaccines are irrelevant,” later adding “I don’t think people should be taking advice, medical advice from me.”
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