The News
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will stop recommending the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children and pregnant women, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced Tuesday.
Many countries around the world, including Britain, France, and Germany, already don’t recommend COVID-19 shots for healthy children. While most children are unlikely to have severe symptoms, pregnant women are considered at higher risk of complications from the disease.
Dr. Steven Fleischman, president of the American College of American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, criticized the CDC’s move, saying that “COVID infection during pregnancy can be catastrophic and lead to major disability.”
Before joining the Trump administration, Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic, campaigned against COVID-19 shots for children, even at the height of the pandemic.