The United States government has ceased recommending routine Covid-19 vaccinations for healthy children and pregnant women, bypassing the usual approval process by the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

This announcement came from US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr on Tuesday through a social media post, signaling a significant shift in the country’s Covid-19 vaccination policy.

Kennedy, along with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya, stated in a joint video that Covid-19 vaccines have been removed from the CDC’s recommended immunisation schedule for these groups. This policy update follows tighter Covid shot requirements unveiled last week, which restrict vaccines primarily to older adults and individuals at higher risk of severe illness.

Traditionally, any changes to the CDC’s immunisation schedule are reviewed and voted on by the agency’s Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices (ACIP) before the CDC director finalises the decision. However, the committee has yet to vote on these latest changes, prompting criticism from public health experts.

William Schaffner, infectious diseases professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and ACIP consultant, described the move as "turning the process upside down." He noted that the ACIP was scheduled to vote on vaccine recommendations for children in a meeting set for June, expecting a more targeted approach rather than a broad withdrawal.

Kennedy, known for his scepticism towards vaccines, has been reshaping the US health system to align with former President Donald Trump’s agenda to reduce federal government size. "Last year, the Biden Administration urged healthy children to get yet another Covid shot despite the lack of clinical data to support repeat booster strategy in children," Kennedy remarked in the video.

The CDC had previously recommended updated Covid vaccines for everyone aged six months and older, following advice from its panel of outside experts. Insurers, including major providers like Blue Cross Blue Shield and CVS Health, are currently assessing how these changes might affect insurance coverage for Covid vaccinations.

Dorit Reiss, law professor at UC Law San Francisco, warned that circumventing the advisory committee process could expose the CDC to legal challenges.

Contrary to the new guidance, studies involving hundreds of thousands of pregnant women worldwide have consistently shown Covid vaccination to be safe and beneficial for both mother and child, according to the CDC’s own data.

Makary argued in the video that healthy children do not require routine Covid shots, highlighting that most countries have already stopped recommending the vaccine for this age group.

Dr Cody Meissner, paediatrics professor at Dartmouth College who co-authored an editorial opposing mask mandates for children during the pandemic, supported the decision. He said earlier recommendations had been "overemphasised" and politically driven, noting the decreasing severity of Covid illness in young children over time.

Vaccine manufacturers Moderna and Pfizer did not respond to requests for comment.