CDC drops COVID-19 jab from routine vaccine schedules

In a policy shift that breaks with the previous administration's broad vaccination campaign, US health authorities have removed the COVID-19 vaccine from the routine immunization schedule for healthy children and healthy pregnant women.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced the move Tuesday in a post on social media, describing the update as “common sense” and “good science.” He framed the decision as a step forward in President Donald Trump's “Make America Healthy Again” initiative.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) no longer recommends COVID-19 vaccination as part of the regular childhood or maternal immunization program, signaling a narrowing of the previous universal approach that encouraged shots for all Americans aged six months and up.