New Vaccine Guideline Adjustments: Which Groups Face Altered Vaccination Rules?
In a buzzing social media post on May 27, 2025, the U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped a bombshell—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would no longer be endorsing COVID-19 vaccination for pregnant peeps and robust kids.
This update followed the FDA's stance published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), suggesting that COVID-19 immunization regimes should prioritize older adults and those at risk of developing grave COVID-19 given exposure to SARS-CoV-2, the bug causing COVID-19.
Needless to say, this move stirred quite the uproar, especially as a new, Stealthy Son-of-a-Gun called NB.1.8.1 surfaced in the U.S.
Curious to know the nitty-gritty of it all? We've tapped Daniel Ganjian, MD, FAAP, a pediatrician, and Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH, an infectious disease specialist to spill the deets on the most blazing questions.
So, what happens to pregnant women now?
There's worry that takeoff the COVID-19 vax ladder for pregnant people might leave them vulnerable to a hike in pregnancy complications-no bueno, folks.
"Should the COVID-19 vax no longer be on the table for pregnant individuals, they'd miss out on a vital tool to lower their risks for severe COVID-19, ICU stays, preterm births, and perinatal deaths," Ganjian confided.
"Given the risks of severe COVID-19, ICU admissions, preterm births, and perinatal deaths, both the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) have backed the notion of getting vaccinated during pregnancy," he emphasized.
In the same vein, Gandhi stressed:
"I wholeheartedly understand that the elderly and those compromised by multiple medical conditions should be at the top of the list for booster COVID-19 shots annually. But for pregnant women, who are essentially immune-compromised, they're at risk of developing severe COVID-19."
"So, to leave pregnant women off the list for the COVID-19 shot is dodgy at best," she pointed out.
What about the kiddos?
While healthy tykes might not be prime contenders for severe COVID-19, succumbing to the coronavirus could still bring hidden health issues down the road.
Take Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), for example, a complex condition that can materialize following infection.
"The elimination of COVID-19 vax recommendations for children would raise the chances of severe COVID-19, hospitalizations, and complications like MIS-C, especially for those with underlying medical conditions," Ganjian shared.
"But on the flip side, parents of kiddos with underlying health conditions may still be able to secure vax access in specific, clinical situations, thanks to regulatory and healthcare policy decisions," he continued.
Gandhi noted, however, that healthy children with some immunity, either from vaccines or infections past, may not need further COVID-19 vaxes.
"Pregnant women should get booster shots because they're relatively immune-compromised. Healthy children with immunity (either from natural infections or vaxxes) don't need COVID-19 boosters if we take a risk-based approach to vaxxing," she stated.
How might this affect public health?
"From a public health viewpoint, scrapping broad recommendations might signal a shift in risk assessment, possibly due to changes in epidemiology, variant virulence, or vax effectiveness. But, it could also increase morbidity among vulnerable populations," Ganjian warned.
Gandhi underscored that a more discerning approach could provide pregnant women with boosters without jeopardizing healthy children with prior immunity.
"I think pregnant women should get booster shots because they're relatively immune-compromised. Healthy children with prior immunity (either from natural infections or vaxxes) don't need COVID-19 boosters if we take a risk-based approach to vaxxing," she summed up.
On a related note, Gandhi voiced some concerns about the FDA's recent recommendation and the NEJM statement from May 2025 for placebo-controlled trials for brand-new COVID-19 vaxxes. Here's the catch: participating in those trialsinstead of receiving vaxxes might leave some folks at greater risk.
"Initially, COVID-19 vax trials, like Moderna and Pfizer's, utilized a placebo-controlled methodology because there wasn't a pre-existing COVID-19 vax," she clarified.
"But now that we have COVID-19 vaxxes, comparing a new COVID-19 vax to a placebo in a vulnerable individual (like an elderly person) would be unethical as they'd be left at risk of contracting severe disease without protection," she concluded.
Can you still score a COVID-19 vax despite the changes?
Considering the shakeups in recommended COVID-19 vax schedules, pregnant women and parents clamoring to safeguard their children might still have a shot—quite literally—at accessing the vax through private channels or off-label use, if available. But, it'll all depend on regulatory status and healthcare provider policies.
"Under current understanding, pregnant individuals and parents eager to vax their children may be able to get their hands on COVID-19 vaxxes through private purchases or off-label use, assuming availability. However, insurance coverage and public health supply could be limited if recommendations are pulled," Ganjian noted.
- "The absence of COVID-19 vaccination recommendations for pregnant individuals could potentially increase their risks for severe COVID-19, ICU stays, preterm births, and perinatal deaths, as Ganjian stated."
- "For children, the elimination of COVID-19 vaccination recommendations might increase the chances of severe COVID-19, hospitalizations, and complications like Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C), according to Ganjian."
- "From a public health viewpoint, scrapping broad COVID-19 vaccination recommendations could potentially increase morbidity among vulnerable populations, as Ganjian warned."
- "While pregnant women should consider getting boosters due to their immune-compromised state, healthy children with immunity (either from natural infections or vaccines) might not need COVID-19 boosters if a risk-based approach to vaccination is followed, as Gandhi stated."
