Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Changes His Mind About COVID Vaccine

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is no longer encouraging COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women and healthy children, marking a shift in federal public health guidance.

Why It Matters

Just two weeks ago, the CDC stated that COVID-19 vaccination is especially crucial for individuals at the highest risk of severe infection, including pregnant women, to "protect themselves and their infants."

What To Know

Kennedy shared the update in a video posted on X, formerly Twitter.

"I couldn't be more pleased to announce that as of today the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule," said Kennedy, joined in the announcement by Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, and Marty Makary, FDA commissioner.

Kennedy criticized the Biden administration for urging healthy children to get another COVID shot "despite the lack of any critical data, to support the repeat booster strategy in children."

"That ends today," Bhattacharya said. "It's common sense and it's good science."

Makary said there is "no evidence" that healthy children require COVID vaccines, adding that most countries have already stopped recommending them.

The change in policy comes one week after the Trump administration announced that healthy children and younger adults will no longer be recommended to get an annual COVID-19 vaccine.

Instead, Makary and vaccine chief Vinay Prasad focused on vaccine eligibility for adults 65 and older, as well as Americans over six months old who have at least one serious health condition, including asthma, diabetes, cancer or obesity.

Pregnant women were also listed among those encouraged to get vaccinated under the new guidelines.

The initial guidance perturbed some who have embraced the Trump administration's approach towards vaccines and Making America Healthy Again (MAHA), including social media influencer Diana Atieh.

Atieh told Newsweek last week that she was disappointed with the administration's guidelines for pregnant women.

"It's really unfortunate to see the Trump administration and FDA approve and push the COVID vaccine, especially to those who already have preexisting health conditions," she said.

She argued that the COVID vaccine "was shown to not help with outcomes" of those who contracted COVID-19, citing data on hospitalizations and deaths.

In addition to "the push of the COVID vaccine on pregnant women," Atieh expressed wariness about being "unable to examine long-term effects on babies whose mothers have received mRNA vaccines while in utero." She also called it "a prime example of just how influential Big Pharma still is."

But her spirits were higher on Tuesday, telling Newsweek she was "very, very happy" about the change in course.

"I'm sure [Kennedy] received a lot of pushback given his take has always been critical of vaccines," Atieh said. "Honestly, this is a huge moment for us MAHA moms. Additionally, admitting the risk of myocarditis was definitely a 'we told you so' moment, but one that I was so happy to see."

What People Are Saying

Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene previously told Newsweek: "I'm thrilled with the FDA's new guidelines for COVID vaccines! No one should have ever been forced to take an unproven and experimental shot. It turned out deadly with miscarriages and myocarditis going through the roof after the COVID shot was forced upon the American people.

"Thank you to Secretary Kennedy for rightly updating the FDA's guidance. Big Pharma has made enough money off the government's recommendations. It's time for the American people to have health freedom again."

Miranda Yaver, assistant professor of health policy and management at the University of Pittsburgh, previously told Newsweek: "The hyperpartisanship we're experiencing, coupled with the de-prioritization of policy expertise, is leading to profound divides in trust in agencies and health recommendations, and this trust will be difficult to rebuild, especially as we see the continued hollowing out of the public health bureaucracy.

"As a researcher, what has been particularly unusual and distressing is that it's hard to feel confidence when using government data or other government sources. Some of that is related to vaccines as we've seen with RFK Jr.'s prioritization of autism 'research' over sound science, and some of it is related to other aspects of the administration's agenda. So, the trust issues are quite far-reaching, and of course in the context of vaccines the consequences can be dire."

Nicole Clark, CEO and co-founder of the Adult and Pediatric Institute, previously told Newsweek: "RFK Jr's hesitation and refusal to give his own testimony about vaccines will likely shed doubt on his ability to effectively run the HHS, given that the position is critical to the dissemination of accurate information regarding public health. His acknowledgment that people should not take medical advice from him creates even further concern about what he understands his role to be as the head of HHS.

"RFK Jr's role as the head of HHS is more important now than ever, as he can bring people together and instill faith in the medical community, versus breeding a culture of mistrust and misinformation. It is the hope of the medical community that he makes positive steps forward on this precipice to ensure the public health and safety of all Americans."

What Happens Next

The CDC's advisory committee is scheduled to meet on June 25 to finalize vaccination group recommendations for the fall COVID-19 campaign.

Update 5/27/25, 4:02 p.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Diana Atieh.