CDC Restricts States from Ordering COVID-19 Vaccines for Children, Limits Access

As the upcoming respiratory virus season approaches, uncertainties loom over COVID-19 vaccination for over half of children in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has unexpectedly postponed the distribution of the seasonal COVID-19 vaccines to a vital federal initiative and numerous states.

Traditionally, the CDC allows states to procure newly available seasonal COVID-19 vaccines via the federal Vaccines for Children (VFC) program, which provides free vaccinations for children who are uninsured, underinsured, or eligible for Medicaid, as well as Indigenous children in the U.S. Data indicates that roughly 52 percent of children in the U.S. qualify for vaccines through this program.

Moreover, at least 11 states alongside one U.S. territory participate in a universal vaccine purchase program, allowing them to obtain all vaccines for children, regardless of their payment capabilities or insurance coverage, through contracts typically associated with the VFC. The states involved are: Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wyoming, and American Samoa.

Demetre Daskalakis, former director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and current chief medical officer at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, expressed concern regarding the implications of the VFC delay: “The delay in VFC means delays in these states’ ability to get vaccines for all children,” he told The Guardian.

Kennedy’s Controversial Stance

In a recent statement, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) informed Ars Technica that “CDC has not yet finalized procurement decisions for COVID-19 vaccines through the Vaccines for Children and Section 317 programs.” The current leadership, led by noted anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., did not clarify the reasons behind the delay but indicated that decisions made during the Trump administration had raised doubts regarding the necessity of vaccinating children.

HHS and the CDC emphasized their commitment to ensuring that vaccines obtained through federally funded programs are suitable for their intended demographic. The department mentioned that additional information pertaining to the decision would be released “soon.”

This unexplained postponement corresponds with Kennedy’s long-standing skepticism about COVID-19 vaccines, which he has inaccurately labeled as “the deadliest vaccine[s] ever made.” He has also attempted to link these vaccines to child mortality, despite the absence of supporting evidence.