Health

 Axios -  HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and healthy pregnant women continued a pattern of breaking with scientific precedent and leaving big segments of the medical community angry and confused.

The announcement yesterday offered more indications that Kennedy could be going back on a pledge he made during his Senate confirmation hearings not to make vaccination more difficult or discourage people from taking vaccines.

It also left key questions unanswered. For example, federal health officials last week cited pregnancy as a risk factor for developing severe COVID-19 when they announced steps to limit the shots to seniors and people with conditions that put them at higher risk of serious infections.

• Some young children who have not yet had a COVID vaccine will now likely not be covered and be at greater risk of being exposed to possible long-term effects of the virus, said Molly O'Shea, a board-certified pediatrician and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
• Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, said dialing back the vaccine recommendation was another example of "on the fly" policymaking without consultation or new information that's become a hallmark of Kennedy's tenure.

 The move has ramifications for insurance coverage, since health plans often look to CDC expert recommendations to guide their payment decisions.  Read more