Pfizer’s Covid vaccine Comirnaty, seen at a CVS Pharmacy in Eagle Rock, California, Sept. 14, 2023.
Irfan Khan | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images
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 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for Covid vaccines, once used to justify broad mandates on the general public during the Biden administration, are now rescinded,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.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.
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, and whether insurance plans will still cover the shots for healthy Americans.
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.
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