Deidre McPhillips, CNN
Fri, August 22, 2025
The latest recommendations from ACOG say that any of the available Covid-19 vaccines can be delivered simultaneously with other vaccines recommended during pregnancy. - John Fedele/Tetra images RF/Getty Images
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists on Friday reaffirmed support for Covid-19 vaccination during pregnancy, becoming the second major professional medical association to break from current US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations this week.
“While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently removed its recommendation that pregnant and lactating individuals receive updated COVID-19 vaccines, ACOG’s recommendations have not changed,” according to the updated practice advisory. “The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists continues to recommend the use of updated COVID-19 vaccines in individuals contemplating pregnancy and in pregnant, recently pregnant, and lactating individuals.”
In May, US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that Covid-19 vaccines will no longer be among the recommended vaccines for pregnant women and healthy children in CDC immunization schedules. The abrupt decision bypassed the government’s normal process for evaluating and recommending vaccines, and Kennedy did not offer scientific evidence to justify the change to the recommendations.
The latest recommendations from ACOG say that “all clinicians should provide a strong recommendation for updated COVID-19 vaccination to their pregnant and lactating patients.” Vaccinations can occur in any trimester, with an emphasis on the “earliest opportunity to maximize maternal and fetal health,” and any of the available Covid-19 vaccines can be delivered simultaneously with other vaccines recommended during pregnancy, includi ng those against influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Dozens of references in ACOG’s advisory, including multiple CDC sources, emphasize the safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccination during pregnancy – and the increased risk that pregnant women and infants face from a Covid-19 infection.
On Tuesday, the American Academy of Pediatrics released its updated recommendations for vaccines with explicit support for Covid-19 vaccines for children and a direct criticism of a federal vaccine advisory committee, the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, that AAP says is made up of “individuals who have a history of spreading vaccine misinformation” after it was recently overhauled by Kennedy.
There has also been tension between ACOG and those driving federal health policy.
The organization said it is no longer accepting federal funding due to recent changes that “significantly impact ACOG’s program goals, policy positions, and ability to provide timely and evidence-based guidance and recommendations for care.”
And ACOG announced in July that it was partnering with an independent group of experts called the Vaccine Integrity Project to develop maternal immunization guidance in the absence of “historically robust government-led annual review of data and subsequent evidence-based recommendations.”
“The meeting of the newly reconstructed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) demonstrated that the committee did not follow the longstanding tradition of robust, unbiased review of reputable scientific evidence by medical and public health experts,” ACOG President Dr. Steven Fleischman said in June. “The data presented to ACIP affirm why ACOG continues to recommend safe, effective maternal vaccination. If ACIP responded to the data as presented in a way that values medical evidence and public health, the government’s recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy would be restored and support for maternal vaccination would be unwavering.”
After the abrupt federal changes to the Covid-19 vaccination schedule, dozens of health and medical organizations – including ACOG and AAP – pushed for continued access and insurance coverage for the vaccines in an open letter.
Pregnant women who have Covid-19 are more likely to require care in the ICU or on a ventilator, or to die, the medical organizations’ letter said, and they’re at higher risk of complications such as cesarean birth, preeclampsia or eclampsia, and blood clots. Infants born after a Covid-19 infection also face increased risks.
“It is vital that we ensure that pregnant women continue to have access to this prevention tool so that they can protect themselves and their young infants, a vulnerable group who is not yet eligible for vaccination,” the letter said.
HHS did not respond directly on ACOG’s recommendations or the evidence behind them. Instead, an agency spokesperson said in a statement that “HHS and CDC will continue to be the official resource for any guidance.”
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
RFK Jr. attacks pediatric group after vaccine recommendations
.JPG)
Nathaniel Weixel
Wed, August 20, 2025
Hours after the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) broke with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and recommended COVID-19 vaccines for all young children, Kennedy blasted the association as beholden to corporate interests.
The AAP on Tuesday recommended all infants and children 6 months through 23 months get vaccinated against COVID-19 to help protect against serious illness.
Kennedy responded in a post on social platform X, calling the group’s recommendations “corporate friendly” because the AAP receives donations to its Friends of Children Fund from vaccine companies like Pfizer and Moderna, among others.
The philanthropic fund backs projects supporting child health and equity.
The HHS secretary said the organization should disclose “its corporate entanglements … so that Americans may ask whether the AAP’s recommendations reflect public health interest, or are, perhaps, just a pay-to-play scheme to promote commercial ambitions of AAP’s Big Pharma benefactors.”
AAP President Susan Kressly said in a statement the group would welcome an opportunity to sit down with Kennedy to review the recommendations.
“This attack on the integrity of pediatricians is unfortunate, but it does not change the facts,” Kressly said. “We are transparent about our funders, follow rigorous conflict-of-interest disclosures and maintain safeguards to ensure the integrity and independence of our guidance.”
The AAP and HHS have been at odds for months, and tensions reached a head when Kennedy dismissed all the members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and replaced them with his own handpicked representatives, including some outright vaccine skeptics.
The AAP chose not to participate in the reconstituted panel’s first meeting in June, calling it “illegitimate.” Kennedy later excluded the fund along with other top medical organizations from working with the panel to research and help influence vaccination recommendations.
Kennedy has long criticized the so-called medical establishment for conspiring to make Americans sick. His first “Make America Healthy Again” report accused doctors of being overly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry to overprescribe certain medications that don’t treat the root causes of disease.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
My Father Died Waiting for a Vaccine. Now We're Telling People They Do Not Need One?
.JPG)
Nathaniel Weixel
Wed, August 20, 2025
Hours after the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) broke with Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and recommended COVID-19 vaccines for all young children, Kennedy blasted the association as beholden to corporate interests.
The AAP on Tuesday recommended all infants and children 6 months through 23 months get vaccinated against COVID-19 to help protect against serious illness.
Kennedy responded in a post on social platform X, calling the group’s recommendations “corporate friendly” because the AAP receives donations to its Friends of Children Fund from vaccine companies like Pfizer and Moderna, among others.
The philanthropic fund backs projects supporting child health and equity.
The HHS secretary said the organization should disclose “its corporate entanglements … so that Americans may ask whether the AAP’s recommendations reflect public health interest, or are, perhaps, just a pay-to-play scheme to promote commercial ambitions of AAP’s Big Pharma benefactors.”
AAP President Susan Kressly said in a statement the group would welcome an opportunity to sit down with Kennedy to review the recommendations.
“This attack on the integrity of pediatricians is unfortunate, but it does not change the facts,” Kressly said. “We are transparent about our funders, follow rigorous conflict-of-interest disclosures and maintain safeguards to ensure the integrity and independence of our guidance.”
The AAP and HHS have been at odds for months, and tensions reached a head when Kennedy dismissed all the members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and replaced them with his own handpicked representatives, including some outright vaccine skeptics.
The AAP chose not to participate in the reconstituted panel’s first meeting in June, calling it “illegitimate.” Kennedy later excluded the fund along with other top medical organizations from working with the panel to research and help influence vaccination recommendations.
Kennedy has long criticized the so-called medical establishment for conspiring to make Americans sick. His first “Make America Healthy Again” report accused doctors of being overly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry to overprescribe certain medications that don’t treat the root causes of disease.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
My Father Died Waiting for a Vaccine. Now We're Telling People They Do Not Need One?
Michael Haefele
Sat, August 23, 2025
Sat, August 23, 2025
HUFFPOST
My father was not supposed to die in the spring of 2020. After more than 25 years of teaching high school students, he was finally enjoying his retirement — as an avid member of his community, the choir director at his church, and a regular participant at his local soup kitchen. This all changed in March 2020, after a significant family event likely became the superspreader that led to his demise.
When COVID-19 took over my father’s body, it squeezed his life away. He was forced to live on machines and life support for over four weeks before ultimately dying far too soon. Not only was this a time of uncertainty, but as a critical care nurse practitioner, I watched as science failed, as our medical tools and approaches did not work, and as options became increasingly limited. If March 2020 were only now, when we have vaccines proven effective in preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19, maybe my father would have seen my wedding, celebrated my successes, and held his grandchild.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent guidance on COVID-19 vaccines, which eliminates the recommendation for vaccination among healthy children and pregnant women, undermines public health, scientific evidence, and the right to life. His practices may soon be a major contributor to innumerable preventable deaths. Can we, as a nation, support that? By failing to follow published, vetted evidence; expert opinion; advice of reputable health organizations; or prior standards in vaccine recommendations, the current Department of Health and Human Services leaders created mayhem that will only tear this country further apart, with death as a result.
Research has consistently demonstrated the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines, with a two-dose series being 91% effective in preventing illness in children ages 5 to 11.Evidence shows that COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children ages 12 to 18, not only preventing illness but also reducing the need for life support and the risk of death.
Studies have also proved the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant individuals, with no ties to miscarriage, preterm birth, or low birth weight.There is a known benefit of passive immunity, protecting the baby in the first few months of life. National organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists remain vigilant in promoting COVID-19 vaccination, confirming its safety and its public health importance.
How does my father relate to children or pregnant women, you may ask? He would, no doubt, be in a current “recommended” category for the vaccine. However, his being vaccinated is only one piece of a multilevel public health effort.
With major populations left unvaccinated, can we ever truly achieve and maintain herd immunity? Children with limited hygiene practices are more likely to carry the illness. They carry it home; they carry it to the grocery store; they carry it to the nursing home where their grandparents may live. Science has shown increased transmission rates within the home, with children as the primary vector, infecting those close to them. We also know that children can be asymptomatic carriers of the virus, continuing to spread it without anyone knowing. With a routine vaccine, we can prevent the virus from taking hold and reduce the overall public health risk.
I have witnessed, on the front lines, unvaccinated individuals begging for a vaccine on their deathbed — when it’s far too late. I have seen families shattered: husbands losing their wives, children losing their parents, and parents losing their children. Lives were taken before they could enjoy their best parts, before they could celebrate milestones, before they could say goodbye. I’ve seen the virus spread through families, claiming multiple lives. I have witnessed the reality and devastation that this virus can cause.
Will we be ready for the next COVID-19 pandemic? While we all relax now, while the virus has lost some of its strength, are we prepared for it to mutate and regain its vicious patterns? If these groups lose their immunity without vaccines, do we open ourselves up to the possibility of dangerous mutations? And when it’s too late, will the current vaccines still work, or will we have time to prepare, vaccinating all those who were previously unprotected?
RFK Jr. is putting his agenda before the needs of this country. His baseless recommendations are going to fuel death and destruction. Have we not learned from the past? Have we not learned the importance of science? Legislators and policymakers must act now. Health care workers must act now. And we, as a civilization, must act now. Follow the science. Trust the experts. Advocate for further research. But do not create an opportunity for the devastation we once saw.
Related: RFK Jr. Wants To Take COVID Shots Away From Pregnant People — But You Can Fight Back
My father died when COVID-19 wasn’t preventable. Will you be able to say the same?
Michael Haefele is a critical care nurse practitioner in the New York metropolitan area, board-certified in adult-gerontology acute care. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Nursing Practice and has firsthand experience caring for patients in ICU settings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
My father was not supposed to die in the spring of 2020. After more than 25 years of teaching high school students, he was finally enjoying his retirement — as an avid member of his community, the choir director at his church, and a regular participant at his local soup kitchen. This all changed in March 2020, after a significant family event likely became the superspreader that led to his demise.
When COVID-19 took over my father’s body, it squeezed his life away. He was forced to live on machines and life support for over four weeks before ultimately dying far too soon. Not only was this a time of uncertainty, but as a critical care nurse practitioner, I watched as science failed, as our medical tools and approaches did not work, and as options became increasingly limited. If March 2020 were only now, when we have vaccines proven effective in preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19, maybe my father would have seen my wedding, celebrated my successes, and held his grandchild.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent guidance on COVID-19 vaccines, which eliminates the recommendation for vaccination among healthy children and pregnant women, undermines public health, scientific evidence, and the right to life. His practices may soon be a major contributor to innumerable preventable deaths. Can we, as a nation, support that? By failing to follow published, vetted evidence; expert opinion; advice of reputable health organizations; or prior standards in vaccine recommendations, the current Department of Health and Human Services leaders created mayhem that will only tear this country further apart, with death as a result.
Research has consistently demonstrated the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines, with a two-dose series being 91% effective in preventing illness in children ages 5 to 11.Evidence shows that COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective in preventing multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children ages 12 to 18, not only preventing illness but also reducing the need for life support and the risk of death.
Studies have also proved the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant individuals, with no ties to miscarriage, preterm birth, or low birth weight.There is a known benefit of passive immunity, protecting the baby in the first few months of life. National organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists remain vigilant in promoting COVID-19 vaccination, confirming its safety and its public health importance.
How does my father relate to children or pregnant women, you may ask? He would, no doubt, be in a current “recommended” category for the vaccine. However, his being vaccinated is only one piece of a multilevel public health effort.
With major populations left unvaccinated, can we ever truly achieve and maintain herd immunity? Children with limited hygiene practices are more likely to carry the illness. They carry it home; they carry it to the grocery store; they carry it to the nursing home where their grandparents may live. Science has shown increased transmission rates within the home, with children as the primary vector, infecting those close to them. We also know that children can be asymptomatic carriers of the virus, continuing to spread it without anyone knowing. With a routine vaccine, we can prevent the virus from taking hold and reduce the overall public health risk.
I have witnessed, on the front lines, unvaccinated individuals begging for a vaccine on their deathbed — when it’s far too late. I have seen families shattered: husbands losing their wives, children losing their parents, and parents losing their children. Lives were taken before they could enjoy their best parts, before they could celebrate milestones, before they could say goodbye. I’ve seen the virus spread through families, claiming multiple lives. I have witnessed the reality and devastation that this virus can cause.
Will we be ready for the next COVID-19 pandemic? While we all relax now, while the virus has lost some of its strength, are we prepared for it to mutate and regain its vicious patterns? If these groups lose their immunity without vaccines, do we open ourselves up to the possibility of dangerous mutations? And when it’s too late, will the current vaccines still work, or will we have time to prepare, vaccinating all those who were previously unprotected?
RFK Jr. is putting his agenda before the needs of this country. His baseless recommendations are going to fuel death and destruction. Have we not learned from the past? Have we not learned the importance of science? Legislators and policymakers must act now. Health care workers must act now. And we, as a civilization, must act now. Follow the science. Trust the experts. Advocate for further research. But do not create an opportunity for the devastation we once saw.
Related: RFK Jr. Wants To Take COVID Shots Away From Pregnant People — But You Can Fight Back
My father died when COVID-19 wasn’t preventable. Will you be able to say the same?
Michael Haefele is a critical care nurse practitioner in the New York metropolitan area, board-certified in adult-gerontology acute care. He is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Nursing Practice and has firsthand experience caring for patients in ICU settings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
No comments:
Post a Comment