In move that pushes back against new vaccine guidelines by the Trump administration, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended Tuesday that all children between 6 and 23 months old receive COVID-19 shots during the upcoming fall and winter seasons when respiratory viruses spread widely.
The AAP, which has long been one of the country’s leading voices in vaccine recommendations, criticized the federal government’s recent overhaul of vaccine guidelines under Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The organization said the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention is now filled “with individuals who have a history of spreading vaccine misinformation.”
AAP argues young children in the recommended age range should receive the vaccine because they are especially vulnerable to severe COVID-19 infections that carry higher risks for hospitalization. Unless these children have a known allergy to the vaccine or its ingredients, the group said they should be prioritized for immunization.
Kennedy’s shakeup of the CDC committee drew backlash from public health experts who warned that it will undermine scientific integrity and politicize decisions that should be evidence-based. In a video Kennedy posted on X in May, he said healthy children should no longer receive the COVID-19 vaccine, claiming there is limited data to support their continued immunization against the virus.
Few parents in the United States are still having their kids get COVID-19 shots. Estimates from the CDC say 13% of all children are up to date on the vaccine. Among children between 6 and 23 months, only 4.5% are up to date. In that age group, another CDC study found that just over half of children who were admitted to intensive care units for COVID-19 had no underlying conditions.
AAP and other pediatric groups have had difficulty assessing the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in young children due to low rates of vaccination. Sean O’ Leary, who leads the group’s committee on infectious diseases, told the Washington Post that Kennedy has engaged in a “pretty clearly orchestrated strategy to sow distrust in vaccines.”
Changes in the CDC committee’s vaccine recommendations could impact whether insurers continue covering the cost of COVID-19 shots, which is required by federal law for any recommended vaccine. AAP said it is holding its own discussions with major insurers to take its recommendations into account for coverage.
To date, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has not approved an updated COVID-19 vaccine for the upcoming season. In years past, that has happened toward end of summer. Under FDA guidelines released in May, the agency said coronavirus vaccines will only be available to adults over 65 and to people older than 6 months old who have at least one medical condition that puts them at risk for severe COVID. For groups considered at low risk, the FDA said it will require more clinical trial data on the vaccine’s efficacy before approving yearly updates.
AAP’s recommendations also cover vaccinations for RSV and the flu. The group says infants younger than 8 months should get an RSV vaccine if they are born during or just ahead of the October to April season and if their mother did not receive one while pregnant. Children between 8 and 19 months should get immunized against RSV if they are in a high-risk group that includes infants with chronic lung disease and cystic fibrosis.
For the flu, AAP recommends annual vaccines for all children 6 months and older unless there is a medical reason not to get the shot.
“The AAP will continue to provide recommendations for immunizations that are rooted in science and are in the best interest of the health of infants, children and adolescents,” AAP President Susan J. Kressly said in a statement. “Pediatricians know how important routine childhood immunizations are in keeping children, families and their communities healthy and thriving.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
