Apoorva Mandavilli

So, Tuesday morning, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., our health secretary, dropped this very big piece of news via a tweet.

So, Tuesday morning, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., our health secretary, dropped this very big piece of news via a tweet.

That the CDC's immunization schedule, which recommends who should get shots and when, would no longer include COVID shots for healthy kids and healthy pregnant women.

That the CDC's immunization schedule, which recommends who should get shots and when, would no longer include COVID shots for healthy kids and healthy pregnant women.

And he went out of his way to say, you know, the Biden administration has been recommending this shot and there's no clinical data to support its use.

And he went out of his way to say, you know, the Biden administration has been recommending this shot and there's no clinical data to support its use.

It was essentially this very short announcement of a very, very big public health policy. And I think people are extremely confused. The experts I've talked to even are very confused about what this means in terms of access, if people want to get the shot. And they're also very confused about the process because this is not how the FDA normally delivers policy announcements.

It was essentially this very short announcement of a very, very big public health policy. And I think people are extremely confused. The experts I've talked to even are very confused about what this means in terms of access, if people want to get the shot. And they're also very confused about the process because this is not how the FDA normally delivers policy announcements.

They don't just post it on Twitter. There's a whole protocol with many, many, many, many steps before they arrive at something like this. Some of those quite important. And none of that happened here.

They don't just post it on Twitter. There's a whole protocol with many, many, many, many steps before they arrive at something like this. Some of those quite important. And none of that happened here.

So up until now, the CDC has recommended COVID shots for everybody six months and older. So any child, regardless of health status, any adult, pregnant women, older adults, everybody. And the idea was that the benefit from the vaccines, even if it has been dwindling, still outweighs any risk from the vaccine and certainly is very important given the risk of COVID.

So up until now, the CDC has recommended COVID shots for everybody six months and older. So any child, regardless of health status, any adult, pregnant women, older adults, everybody. And the idea was that the benefit from the vaccines, even if it has been dwindling, still outweighs any risk from the vaccine and certainly is very important given the risk of COVID.

And so that's where the CDC has been pretty much since these shots were available to those groups of people.

And so that's where the CDC has been pretty much since these shots were available to those groups of people.

Generally speaking, what it means is when the CDC's advisors recommend a vaccine, that's when insurance companies are required to cover it. So if a vaccine falls off the CDC's recommended immunization schedule, insurance companies are highly unlikely to cover it unless they make the decision that somebody getting sick from COVID will cost them more money.

Generally speaking, what it means is when the CDC's advisors recommend a vaccine, that's when insurance companies are required to cover it. So if a vaccine falls off the CDC's recommended immunization schedule, insurance companies are highly unlikely to cover it unless they make the decision that somebody getting sick from COVID will cost them more money.

So there is a possibility they could still cover it. But practically speaking, what it does mean is that low-income families may not be able to get the shot. There are a lot of practical hurdles that not having the CDC's stamp of approval on something like this means in the real world, especially in our healthcare system.

So there is a possibility they could still cover it. But practically speaking, what it does mean is that low-income families may not be able to get the shot. There are a lot of practical hurdles that not having the CDC's stamp of approval on something like this means in the real world, especially in our healthcare system.

The thinking there is that we have seen decreasing numbers of severely ill children, hospitalizations, deaths from COVID. It's not zero. I will say that the number of kids who have died from COVID is on par with what happens in an average flu season. So there are still some children dying from COVID.

The thinking there is that we have seen decreasing numbers of severely ill children, hospitalizations, deaths from COVID. It's not zero. I will say that the number of kids who have died from COVID is on par with what happens in an average flu season. So there are still some children dying from COVID.