Robert F Kennedy Jr, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, recently issued a statement on social media indicating that HHS would no longer recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for healthy children or pregnant individuals.

Many highly respected medical groups — including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics — have reacted to this news with strong statements objecting to this course of action. MultiCare shares their objections and concerns.

This recommendation does not align with the best scientific evidence and agreement among subject matter experts and bypasses our country’s standard, transparent vaccine review process that employs intense scientific review and open data analysis by multiple scientists and experts.

Eliminating the COVID-19 vaccine from the immunization schedule would bypass established evidence-based safety measures; ignore the severe risks of contracting COVID-19 during pregnancy and the critical need for maternal antibodies to protect newborns; and disregard input from medical experts. It would have long-term consequences for individuals, families and health care providers.

It is important to note that, to date, there has been no formal communication or publication about this change from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC), and at the time of this statement, their immunization schedule remains unchanged. However, even if no further action has been taken to formalize this recommendation, Secretary Kennedy’s social media post is likely to confuse parents, families and pediatricians at a time when pregnant individuals remain at risk for death and severe disease and COVID-19 continues to be a major cause of pediatric hospitalizations in healthy young infants and children. This post also increases distrust and uncertainty around the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine.

There is complete and unanimous agreement among those equipped to make that judgement that the vaccine is safe and effective in preventing severe disease — this has been demonstrated by extensive research.

The Washington State Department of Health continues to advise providers to offer and administer COVID-19 vaccines to all patients 6 months and older, and MultiCare also follows these guidelines. At this time, we have no plans to adjust our COVID-19 vaccine recommendations.

We will continue to monitor developments and look to our state and local health departments for ongoing updates and guidance, as necessary.