How changes to Covid-19 vaccine policy in the US may affect you
The US Department of Health and Human Services, under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has recently made significant changes to how Covid-19 vaccines are approved and the groups they are recommended for.
For the past few years, the federal government has broadly approved and recommended an updated Covid-19 shot for everyone ages 6 months and up each fall.
But last week, leaders from the US Food and Drug Administration outlined a new framework for the approval process for Covid-19 vaccines that could limit shots to older Americans and people at higher risk of serious Covid-19 infection. On Tuesday, Kennedy announced that the vaccine will no longer be among the recommended vaccines for pregnant women and healthy children on the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s immunization schedule.
However, the schedule now categorizes Covid-19 shots for children as “recommended vaccination based on shared clinical decision-making,” meaning kids can get the shots after consulting with a health care provider such as a doctor, nurse or pharmacist.
These changes, made in unconventional ways, will probably affect access to and availability of Covid-19 vaccine shots for millions.