The members of the Vaccination Practice Advisory Committee listen to a presentation on COVID-19 at an ACIP meeting at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, September 19, 2025.
Pointer Alyssa | Reuters
On Friday, the secretary of health and social services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the group of vaccination vaccination in hand, weakened the recommendations of the Covid shooting in the United States, advising that all Americans consult a health care provider before deciding to receive the vaccine.
The panel of 12 members, called the advisory committee on vaccination practices, or ACIP, recommended that people of 6 months and more receive vaccines based on a “shared clinical decision -making”, which refers to a decision -making process between a health care provider and a patient or their tutor. The group also voted to emphasize that for those under the age of 65, the cocovid vaccine is the most beneficial for those who have a high risk of serious illness in the disease.
The guidelines are breaking from previous years, where the Committee has recommended that all Americans aged 6 months and more receive an updated cocovid shot.
Although the AIPI has not restricted the use of the covid vaccine, the softer recommendation of the panel can more confuse the Americans on the advisability of taking a chance and making them more difficult for them to access one. ACIP establishes recommendations on which should receive certain shots and what vaccine insurers should cover free of charge.
Panel President Martin Kulldorff said it was his accounting that the new recommendation means that the government’s insurance regimes would always cover Coids vaccines. But it is not clear if all private health plans will maintain the coverage of the blows.
The CDC, whose last director was ousted by the Trump administration earlier this month, must always adopt the recommendations of the panel.
The vote is not surprising because Kennedy appointed several vocal criticisms of gunshots at the panel after having ousted all the previous members in June. On Friday, at the meeting on Friday, some members question the safety and efficiency of the coupled plans and mRNA technology, and questioned the reliability of the data on hospitalization rates due to the virus.
Professor of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, RETSEF Levi, speaks during an advisory committee on the meeting of vaccination practices at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, on September 19, 2025.
Pointer Alyssa | Reuters
He also follows Kennedy’s other recent measures to modify the policy of American co -via vaccines, which have created new obstacles for some people to access vaccines, including prescription requirements in certain states. The CDC has lowered firing recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women, and the Food and Drug Administration has approved new rush strokes with limits that can get them.
The possibility of obtaining vaccines may vary depending on the state: in a break in federal directives, four democratic states have recommended on Wednesday that large bands of the population receive an updated cocovid shooting, including “all those who choose protection”. However, new recommendations could weaken the virus vaccination rates and increase the threat of the propagation of the disease.
A study published Thursday in Jama Network Open has shown that sticking a universal vaccination recommendation cocovated in the United States, the directives that have been in place in recent years, have the potential to prevent thousands of additional hospitalizations and deaths to limit the advice to high-risk groups.
Many studies have shown that shots using mRNA technology, including pfizer and Moderna, are safe and effective, and serious side effects have occurred in extremely rare cases. An article in August believes that coastal vaccines have saved more than 2 million lives, mainly among the elderly, worldwide between 2020 and October 2024.
Friday, in a press release, Pfizer said that the company and its partner BionTech “remain firmly in our dedication to the safety, quality and efficiency of vaccines thanks to constant monitoring of safety and research in progress. ”
On Wednesday, a large health insurance group said that its members’ plans would cover all the vaccines already recommended by the AIPI, including the shots and the flu, despite any change that the new list of people named brings this week. The plans of group members, American health insurance plans, collectively offer coverage and services to more than 200 million Americans. This includes more than a dozen Blue Cross Blue Shield, Centene, CVS ‘Aetna, Elevance Health, Humana, Kaiser Permanent, Molina and Cigna.
Debate coated vaccines
A member of the ACIP, RETSEF Levi, professor of operations management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, led a working group that examined the data and proposed recommendations around the vaccines, Levi’s presentation on the group’s conclusions has questioned the safety and efficiency of the coupons covored and questioned the technology of the mRNA.
“We have a range of things on mRNA platforms that really suggest that it does not work as expected,” said Levi, who has already pushed to stop giving arnm.
He said the majority of the working group estimated that individual decisions on the advisability of receiving a cocvid vaccine were “appropriate” and specifically, that people should now have the prescriptions for the photo. “You arrive at a level of shade” where some patients can have recent previous infections or different comorbidities that should be discussed with a doctor as part of a prescription, said Levi.
But a member of the working group, Dr. Henry Bernstein, said at another presentation than “shared clinical decision -making and the need for an order create obstacles” to access to cèvres vaccines.
“Simple and stable recommendations can increase the coverage of vaccines,” said Bernstein, a pediatric teacher at the Zucker School of Medicine in Hofstra / Northwell. “COVVI-19 vaccines are very safe and effective.” He is not a member of the Kennedy panel who votes on the recommendations.
“COVVI-19 vaccination is important for pregnant women, pediatric patients, especially those under the age of two, people aged 65 and over, those of all ages with a weakened immune system, medical conditions and anyone feels wanting to protect themselves or their families,” he said.
