US drops COVID vaccine recommendation for pregnant women

Kennedy, FDA commissioner Marty Makary and National Institutes of Health director Jay Bhattacharya said in a video that the shots have been removed from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended immunization schedule.

The changes come a week after they unveiled tighter requirements for COVID shots, effectively limiting them to older adults and those at risk of developing severe illness.

Traditionally, the CDC's Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices would meet and vote on changes to the immunization schedule or recommendations on who should get vaccines before the director of the CDC made a final call. The committee has not voted on these changes.

Kennedy, a long-time vaccine skeptic whose department oversees the CDC, has been remaking the U.S. health system to align with President Donald Trump's goal of dramatically shrinking the federal government.

"Last year, the Biden Administration urged healthy children to get yet another COVID shot despite the lack of clinical data to support repeat booster strategy in children," Kennedy said in the video.

The CDC, following its panel of outside experts, previously recommended updated COVID vaccines for everyone aged six months and older.

Insurers said they are reviewing the regulatory guidance to determine their policies, which typically follow the ACIP recommendations.