FDA ends broad Covid vaccine authorization under RFK Jr.

The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday ended its broader authorization of Covid vaccines in the U.S., only clearing shots for people at higher risk of severe illness.

The move could complicate access to the shots for millions of Americans, and raises questions about whether insurance plans will still cover them for healthy adults.

“The emergency use authorizations for Covid vaccines, once used to justify broad mandates on the general public during the Biden administration, are now rescinded,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a post on X.

“The American people demanded science, safety, and common sense,” he said. “This framework delivers all three.”

It follows several efforts by Kennedy, a prominent vaccine skeptic, to change and undermine immunizations in the U.S. The new limited authorizations are a break from U.S. vaccine policy in previous years, which recommended an annual Covid shot for all Americans 6 months and up.

A key panel of vaccine advisors to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must vote to recommend the Covid shots. But Kennedy earlier this year gutted that panel and named new members, some of whom are widely known vaccine critics.

In the post, Kennedy said the shots are available for all patients who choose them after consulting with their doctors. But it’s unclear how easily patients without high risk factors will be able to get a Covid vaccine.

Kennedy said the FDA has authorized Moderna‘s shot for those 6 months and up, Pfizer‘s vaccine for people ages five and up and Novavax‘s jab for those ages 12 and up, but for those specifically at higher risk of getting severely sick from the virus.

Adults ages 65 and up are at higher risk of severe Covid, and so are younger adults who are immunocompromised or have underlying medication conditions such as cancer, obesity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and heart diseases, according to the CDC‘s website.

In a release, Pfizer confirmed that the FDA had cleared its updated Covid shot for use in adults 65 and above and those ages five through 64 with at least one underlying condition that puts them at high risk for severe illness. The company will begin shipping the shot immediately, and it will be available in pharmacies, hospitals and clinics nationwide “in the coming days.”

Shares of Pfizer and Moderna were trading slightly higher Wednesday afternoon, while Novavax shares dipped.

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