On May 27, 2025 Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the removal of the COVID-19 vaccine from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) immunization schedule for “healthy children and pregnant women.” “We’re now one step closer to realizing President Trump’s promise to Make America Healthy Again,” Kennedy said in a video message posted on X.
Although the text posted noted HHS was taking action effective May 27, 2025, the official immunization schedule on the CDC website had not changed as of that date.
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.
The chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) committee on infectious diseases told ABC News that the AAP was not consulted regarding the announcement, which is not in keeping with a long-established, evidence-based process that has been used to make vaccine recommendations in the U.S.
It remains unclear what federal health officials consider “healthy” children or pregnant women.
Ironically, the announcement comes at a time when a highly infectious new COVID strain from China, which led to a massive spike in hospitalizations there, has spread to the U.S. Known as NB.1.8.1, the omicron variant has been tracked in New York, California, Arizona, Ohio and Rhode Island.
Source: ABC News
For more on the new strain, click here.