by The Food and Drug Administration has announced new federal guidelines for COVID-19 vaccinations on Wednesday that have brought new restrictions on how millions of Americans have access to the shots, since different states deal with a late summer bump in coronavirus cases.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a long -term vaccine skeptic, outlined the new rules in a message on social media Wednesday. The Department has officially withdrawn the authorization of emergency use, making the vaccines available everywhere, because they first came on the market at the end of 2020. At the same time, HHS has issued new, non -invited goods approvals for four updated vaccines formulated to protect against tensions of the virus currently circulating in the US
“The American people demanded science, safety and common sense. This framework delivers all three,” wrote Kennedy.
Some experts in the field of public health strongly disagreed with the move and claimed that it will make it more difficult for people to defend themselves against a virus that still causes more than 100 dead in the US every week.
Who can get the vaccines now?
The most important collection meal of the new guidelines is that most people who want a Covid vaccine can still get one. But there are important new protocols that mean that different groups of Americans will have different rules for how they first have access to the vaccines since they are available on a large scale. This is what the specific rules are for different groups.
Seniors: For anyone who is 65 or older, the rules have not changed. They can still get one of the available vaccines from the same places where they have received them in the past.
Adults and children between 5 and 64 years old: The most important change among the new guidelines is that infusions are now separated into categories with a high risk and non-risk when it comes to how they have access to the vaccines.
Anyone with an underlying health status that increases his risk of serious infection or death by COVID can still get the vaccine from a pharmacy, a doctor or other vaccine site. The list of disorders that bring someone in the category with a high risk includes chronic lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, immunocromizing disorders and obesity.
Those who do not have underlying health status can only now receive the vaccine after consultation with their doctor. Pharmacies and other vaccination sites can no longer give the shot to someone who is not in the risky swimming pool.
Young children: The end of the emergency authorization means that only one shot, the SpikeVax vaccine of Moderna, is available for children under the age of 5. Spikevax is only approved for children with an underlying health status. There is no longer a COVID vaccine authorized for non-high-risk children under 5 years old, although doctors can choose to provide the shot “off label” in some cases.
How did medical experts respond?
Some of the most prominent medical groups in the country have criticized the new vaccine guidelines for creating what they regard as unnecessary barriers to access to life -saving preventive care.
“The FDA has made a decision that fully contradicts the evidence, confidence in scientific policy seriously undermines and access to vaccine is limited, thereby removing the choice of millions of Americans to be protected and to increase the risk of serious outcomes of Covid,” wrote the infectious Diseases on Wednesday.
The president of the American Academy of Pediatrics called the new rules “deeply disturbing” and argued that “every barrier for COVID-19 vaccination creates a dangerous vulnerability for children and their families.”
Kennedy said that, despite the new limitations, the vaccines “are available to all patients they choose after consultation with their doctors.”
But critics claim that it might not be entirely true. More than 100 million Americans do not have access to a first -line provider that they should see to get the shot if they are not considered a high risk. It is also not guaranteed that all doctors will choose to provide the shot “off -label” to healthy patients or that in those cases the insurance will cover the costs of the vaccine, the Idsa said. There are also questions about how other vaccination sites will confirm that someone has a risky state that qualifies them to receive the shot outside a doctor’s office.
What happens to Covid now?
The FDA said that it chose to update his vaccine guidelines because the threat of the virus has been greatly reduced and COVID has become a “manageable” public health challenge.
It is true that the worst days of the pandemic are long past, but the virus is still a threat, especially for medical vulnerable. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 14,000 people died of COVID-related diseases so far in 2025, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of COVID cases throughout the country has been enriched in recent weeks, powered by the new “Stratus” variant of the virus.
Experts from the FDA and other health organizations maintain that the vaccines offer strong protection of the virus.
