Updated: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday issued updated advice that retains COVID-19 shots on the vaccination schedule for children ages 6 months to 17, in contrast to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy鈥檚 statements earlier in the week. However, says the vaccinations are to be 鈥渋ndividually based and informed by a decision process between the health care provider and the patient or parent/guardian.鈥�
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s announcement this week that COVID-19 vaccines are no longer recommended for healthy children has some school and public health experts concerned that families that want the shots for their children won鈥檛 be able to get them.
Although a small minority of children are up to date on their COVID shots, the new federal recommendations could remove one tool that can help keep children well enough to attend school, at a time when schools are still fighting high levels of absenteeism.
鈥淥ur job as school nurses is to keep kids in their seats. We want children in class, learning, and anything that鈥檚 preventable should be prevented,鈥� said Lynn Nelson, president-elect of the National Association of School Nurses. 鈥淚鈥檓 not suggesting that all children have COVID vaccines or that they be be required, just that it鈥檚 a decision that should be made at the health care provider level, in collaboration with the parent.鈥�
In making his announcement post May 27, Kennedy鈥攁 longtime vaccine critic who has peddled false information about shots鈥攕aid the COVID vaccine was for both healthy children and pregnant women. The move follows action by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on May 20 that effectively limits COVID vaccines to older people and people at risk of developing severe complications if they contract the disease.
The CDC previously recommended that everyone 6 months and older receive a COVID shot annually.
鈥淟ast year, the Biden Administration urged healthy children to get yet another COVID shot despite the lack of clinical data to support repeat booster strategy in children,鈥� Kennedy said in the video.
But Nelson of the school nurses association said the decision 鈥渄efies science鈥� that shows the for children.
The shift in recommendations may allow health insurers鈥攊ncluding Medicaid, which millions of children from low-income households rely on鈥攖o stop covering the costs of receiving the vaccine, which could effectively strip many families of their ability to choose whether they want their children to be vaccinated, Nelson said.
Insurance companies without charging copayments.
鈥淚t quickly becomes an access issue,鈥� she said. 鈥淎bsolutely any vaccine decision should be made between a parent and their physician鈥攑eriod. But if families can鈥檛 afford the vaccine, they can decide it鈥檚 in the best interest of the child to receive it but cannot get it. That part is the most concerning to me.鈥�
RFK Jr.'s announcement is his latest vaccine-skeptical move
Kennedy is a longtime, who led a nonprofit that has sued vaccine makers as well as . The nonprofit, Children鈥檚 Health Defense, also produces videos, newsletters, and social media campaigns .
Kennedy in April pledged 鈥渁 massive testing and research effort鈥� to determine the cause of autism, an effort that will include as a risk factor. Extensive research has found .
Some experts have said his in vaccines.
Sean O鈥橪eary, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics鈥� Committee on Infectious Diseases, said in a statement to Education Week that the decision 鈥渃ould strip families of choice.鈥�
鈥淭his decision bypasses a long-established, evidence-based process used to ensure vaccine safety and ignores the expertise of independent medical experts, including members of CDC committees who are examining the evidence regarding the vaccine to make recommendations for the fall,鈥� he said. 鈥�... Those who want to vaccinate may no longer be able to, as the implications for insurance coverage remain unclear. It鈥檚 also unclear whether health care workers would be eligible to be vaccinated.鈥�
A Health and Human Services Department spokesperson that 鈥渨ith the COVID-19 pandemic behind us, it is time to move forward.鈥�
Low numbers of children are up to date on COVID shots
Childhood uptake of the COVID vaccine has been relatively low in recent years. About 13% of children ages 6 months to 17 years were up to date on their COVID vaccines as of April 26, . That鈥檚 compared to 14.2% at the same time in 2024.
Closer to the apex of the pandemic, however, a much higher percentage of children received COVID vaccinations. One , using CDC data, found that 28% of children ages 5 to 11, and 65% of kids ages 12 to 17, were up to date on their COVID vaccines in late 2021 and early 2022.
At that time, some and required kids to be vaccinated to return to in-person classes and activities following prolonged pandemic-related closures. Those requirements were short-lived and, as of February, no state required COVID vaccinations for K-12 students. Individual school districts do not set student vaccination requirements鈥攖hey are determined by state law. Twenty-one states ban the requirement of the COVID vaccine for school-aged children, according to a .
Even so, President Donald Trump in February issued an to withhold federal funding from schools, colleges, and state education departments that require students to receive the COVID vaccination. The New York Times that only 15 colleges still required COVID vaccines for students.
Widespread of new COVID-19 cases is now rare, but the 鈥攁 measure of the prevalence of the disease among people without relying on testing鈥攊s low nationally.
Regardless, Nelson at the National Association of School Nurses said it鈥檚 concerning to limit access to any vaccines that can help prevent or lessen the severity of communicable diseases that can make children sick and keep them out of class.
鈥淐OVID is not over,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just about how dangerous each new wave will be.鈥�
