Members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices take heed to a presentation about Covid-19 during an ACIP meeting on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Sept. 19, 2025.
Alyssa Pointer | Reuters
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hand-picked vaccine panel on Friday weakened Covid shot recommendations within the U.S., advising that every one Americans seek the advice of a health-care provider before deciding whether to receive the vaccine.
The 12-member panel, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, advisable that individuals 6 months and up receive vaccines based on so-called “shared clinical decision-making,” which refers to a call process between a health-care provider and a patient or their guardian. The group also voted to emphasise that for those under 65, the Covid vaccine is most useful for those at high risk of severe illness from the disease.
The guidance breaks from previous years, where the committee advisable that every one Americans ages 6 months and up receive an updated Covid shot.Â
While ACIP didn’t restrict the usage of the Covid vaccine, the panel’s softer advice may further confuse Americans about whether to take a shot and make it tougher for them to access one. ACIP sets recommendations on who should receive certain shots and which vaccines insurers must cover for gratis.Â
The panel’s chair, Martin Kulldorff, said it was his understanding that the brand new advice signifies that government-run insurance coverage will still cover Covid vaccines. But it surely’s unclear if all private health plans will maintain coverage of the shots.
The CDC, whose latest director was ousted by the Trump administration earlier this month, still has to adopt the panel’s recommendations.Â
The vote is not any surprise, as Kennedy appointed several vocal critics of mRNA Covid shots to the panel after ousting all previous members in June. Throughout the meeting Friday, some members forged doubt on the security and efficacy of Covid shots and mRNA technology, and questioned the reliability of information on hospitalization rates resulting from the virus.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Retsef Levi speaks during an Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices meeting on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Sept. 19, 2025.
Alyssa Pointer | Reuters
It also follows Kennedy’s other recent moves to alter U.S. Covid vaccine policy, which have created latest hurdles for some people to access vaccines, including prescription requirements in certain states. The CDC dropped Covid shot recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women, and the Food and Drug Administration approved latest Covid jabs with limits on who can get them.Â
The flexibility to get vaccines may vary by state: In a break from federal guidelines, 4 Democratic states on Wednesday advisable that broad swaths of the population receive an updated Covid shot, including “all who select protection.” Still, the brand new recommendations could weaken vaccination rates against the virus and heighten the specter of the disease spreading.Â
A study published Thursday in JAMA Network Open showed that sticking to a universal Covid vaccine advice within the U.S., the guidance that has been in place lately, has the potential to forestall hundreds more hospitalizations and deaths than limiting the advisory to high-risk groups.Â
Quite a few studies have demonstrated that shots using mRNA technology, including Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, are protected and effective, and serious uncomfortable side effects have happened in extremely rare cases. One paper in August estimates that Covid vaccines saved greater than 2 million lives, mostly amongst older adults, worldwide between 2020 and October 2024.Â
In a press release Friday, Pfizer said the corporate and its partner BioNTech “remain steadfast in our dedication to vaccine safety, quality and effectiveness through constant safety monitoring and ongoing research.”
One major medical insurance group on Wednesday said its member plans will cover all vaccines already advisable by ACIP, including updated Covid and flu shots, despite any changes the brand new slate of appointees makes this week. Member plans of the group, America’s Health Insurance Plans, collectively provide coverage and services to over 200 million Americans. That features greater than a dozen Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, Centene, CVS’ Aetna, Elevance Health, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, Molina, and Cigna.
Debating Covid vaccines
One ACIP member, Retsef Levi, a professor of operations management on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, led a piece group that reviewed data and proposed recommendations around Covid vaccines. Levi’s presentation on the group’s findings questioned the security and efficacy of Covid shots and forged doubt on mRNA technology.
“We now have a variety of things on the mRNA platforms that actually suggest that it doesn’t work as intended,” said Levi, who has previously pushed to stop giving mRNA shots.
He said the vast majority of the work group felt that individual decisions on whether to receive a Covid vaccine are “appropriate” and specifically, that individuals should now should obtain prescriptions for the shot. “You get to a level of nuance” where some patients can have recent prior infections or different comorbidities that must be discussed with a physician as a part of a prescription, Levi said.Â
But one work group member, Dr. Henry Bernstein, said during one other presentation that “shared clinical decision-making and a necessity for a prescription creates barriers” to Covid vaccine access.Â
“Easy, stable recommendations can increase vaccine coverage,” said Bernstein, a professor of pediatrics at Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. “Covid-19 vaccines are highly protected and effective.” He isn’t a member of Kennedy’s panel who votes on recommendations.
“Covid-19 vaccination matters for pregnant women, pediatric patients, especially those lower than two years of age, people 65 years and older, those of any age with a weakened immune system, medical conditions, and anyone who feels they need protection for themselves or their families,” he said.Â
