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yesterday

CDC swaps blanket COVID-19 endorsement for permissive guidance on healthy children and pregnant women

The 'may receive' designation preserves insurance coverage following an HHS directive to remove blanket endorsements; experts warn it could hinder vaccine uptake and deepen confusion.

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A young child receives a Moderna Covid-19 6 months to 5 years vaccination at Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, Massachusetts on June 21, 2022. The temple was one of the first sites in the state to offer vaccinations to anyone in the public.. US health authorities on Saturday cleared the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines for children aged five and younger, in a move President Joe Biden greeted as a "monumental step" in the fight against the virus.
FILE - A sign marks the entrance to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, on Oct. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)
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Overview

  • On May 29, the CDC revised its immunization schedules to change COVID-19 shots for healthy children aged six months and older and pregnant women from a firm recommendation to a permissive “may receive” status.
  • Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s May 27 announcement bypassed the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices ahead of its scheduled June review.
  • By framing vaccination as a shared clinical decision and keeping it covered with no cost-sharing, the CDC aims to retain access even as similar language has been linked to lower inoculation rates.
  • Professional groups including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics have criticized the move as lacking scientific support and exposing vulnerable populations to greater risk.
  • Some CDC web pages still broadly recommend shots for pregnant women, contributing to mixed messages that have unsettled physicians and parents.