For Our Health condemns HHS Secretary Kennedy’s irresponsible rollback of COVID-19 vaccine protections

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Media Relations

Contact: For Our Health Media Relations

For Our Health, a nonpartisan initiative committed to defending science-based public health policy, condemns Tuesday’s reckless decision by the U.S. Secretary Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to remove COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy children and pregnant individuals from the CDC’s recommended immunization schedule.

This abrupt reversal contradicts the overwhelming scientific evidence and the expert consensus of leading medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which continue to recommend COVID-19 vaccines as safe, effective, and essential tools for protecting vulnerable populations.

“Secretary Kennedy’s action is not only scientifically baseless, it is dangerously irresponsible,” said Mary A. Pittman, DrPH, former President and CEO of the Public Health Institute and a co-founder of For Our Health. “This decision endangers pregnant individuals and children, creates uncertainty about insurance coverage for COVID-19 vaccines, undermines public trust in our health system, and drags us backward at a time when we need collaborative action, not complacency.”

Rather than build on the progress achieved through Operation Warp Speed — a landmark initiative launched during the first Trump Administration that saved countless lives — Secretary Kennedy’s move dismisses the very evidence-based strategy that brought COVID-19 vaccines to market swiftly and safely. That effort demonstrated what is possible when government and industry align to apply the best science to protect lives. Today’s rollback is a betrayal of that legacy.

COVID-19 continues to pose real risks. Pregnant individuals face a higher likelihood of severe illness and miscarriage, while vaccines remain critical in limiting the spread, protecting the immunocompromised, and keeping communities safe. Making sweeping policy changes without input from the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices undermines public health institutions and puts politics over people’s lives.

“Although the impact of COVID-19 has declined from the peak in 2020-2021, the virus continues to cause hospitalizations and severe illness in pregnant women and children. Vaccination remains the most effective way to reduce the risk of severe disease,” shared National Foundation for Infectious Diseases Medical Director Robert H. Hopkins, Jr., MD. “Despite suboptimal vaccination rates, eliminating access to vaccines unnecessarily endangers lives. We remain committed to advancing the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases through education and collaboration, and we strongly support the continued use of expert, evidence-based guidance to inform public health policy and protect the health of people across the US.”

For Our Health calls on the Department of Health and Human Services to immediately reinstate the CDC’s full vaccine recommendations and return to a science-driven, transparent decision-making process. We urge elected leaders, public health professionals, and medical organizations to speak out forcefully in defense of evidence-based policy and to reject this dangerous turn toward anti-science ideology.

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The American Public Health Association champions optimal, equitable health and well-being for all. With our broad-based member community and 150-year perspective, we influence federal policy to improve the public’s health. Learn more at www.apha.org.

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Operating as an initiative of the American Public Health Association (www.apha.org), For Our Health (www.forourhealth.org) brings together prominent experts and senior leaders in public health, health care, health sciences. and social services to speak in support of public health and against policies that undermine evidence-based health initiatives, weaken scientific institutions, and endanger public health protections.