RFK Jr.’s CDC isn’t letting states order COVID-19 shots for kids, blocking access

小罗伯特·肯尼迪领导下的疾控中心（CDC）阻止各州订购儿童新冠疫苗，阻碍疫苗获取

As respiratory virus season nears and fall vaccination drives get underway, more than half of US children are facing uncertainty over access to this year’s COVID-19 shot. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has unexpectedly delayed the distribution of the shots to a key federal program and some states. 随着呼吸道病毒流行季临近，秋季疫苗接种工作也已展开，超过半数的美国儿童在获取今年新冠疫苗的问题上面临不确定性。美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）出人意料地推迟了向一个关键联邦项目及部分州分发疫苗的工作。

Usually, the CDC would allow states to order the newly available seasonal COVID-19 vaccines through the federal Vaccine for Children (VFC) program, which provides vaccines at no cost to children who are uninsured, underinsured, Medicaid-eligible, or Indigenous people in the US. Approximately 52 percent of all US children are eligible for vaccines through the program. 通常情况下，CDC 会允许各州通过联邦“儿童疫苗计划”（VFC）订购新上市的季节性新冠疫苗。该计划为美国境内无保险、保险不足、符合医疗补助（Medicaid）资格或原住民儿童免费提供疫苗。全美约 52% 的儿童有资格通过该计划接种疫苗。

Additionally, The Guardian reports that at least 11 states and one US territory are part of a universal vaccine purchase program, in which they buy all vaccines for children—regardless of their ability to pay or insurance status—through contracts otherwise for the VFC. The 11 states and one territory include: Alaska, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wyoming, and American Samoan. 此外，《卫报》报道称，至少有 11 个州和一个美国领地参与了全民疫苗采购计划，通过 VFC 的合同为所有儿童购买疫苗，无论其支付能力或保险状况如何。这 11 个州和一个领地包括：阿拉斯加州、康涅狄格州、夏威夷州、缅因州、马萨诸塞州、新罕布什尔州、新墨西哥州、罗德岛州、佛蒙特州、华盛顿州、怀俄明州以及美属萨摩亚。

“The delay in VFC means delays in these states’ ability to get vaccine for all children,” Demetre Daskalakis, former director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and chief medical officer at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, told The Guardian. “VFC 的延迟意味着这些州为所有儿童获取疫苗的能力也随之延迟，”CDC 国家免疫和呼吸系统疾病中心前主任、Callen-Lorde 社区健康中心首席医疗官 Demetre Daskalakis 对《卫报》表示。

Kennedy’s track record

肯尼迪的过往记录

In a statement, the Department of Health and Human Services told Ars Technica that “CDC has not yet finalized procurement decisions for COVID-19 vaccines through the Vaccines for Children and Section 317 programs.” The department—currently run by ardent anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—declined to answer the question of why there was a delay in the decision. 美国卫生与公众服务部（HHS）在给 Ars Technica 的一份声明中表示：“CDC 尚未最终确定通过‘儿童疫苗计划’和‘317 节计划’采购新冠疫苗的决定。”该部门目前由坚定的反疫苗活动家小罗伯特·肯尼迪（Robert F. Kennedy Jr.）领导，但拒绝回答为何决策会出现延迟。

But the statement suggested that Trump officials were questioning whether children should get the vaccine. “HHS and CDC are committed to … ensuring that vaccines purchased through federally funded programs are appropriate for the populations those programs serve,” the department said in the statement. It added that additional information about the decision will be released “soon.” 然而，声明暗示特朗普政府官员正在质疑儿童是否应该接种疫苗。“HHS 和 CDC 致力于……确保通过联邦资助项目购买的疫苗适合这些项目所服务的群体，”该部门在声明中称。声明补充说，有关该决定的更多信息将“很快”发布。

The unexplained delay fits with Kennedy’s well-established disdain for COVID-19 vaccines, which he has falsely called “the deadliest vaccine[s] ever made,” and has actively tried to blame them for the deaths of children, despite no evidence to support the allegations. 这种无法解释的延迟与肯尼迪一贯对新冠疫苗的蔑视相吻合。他曾错误地称其为“有史以来最致命的疫苗”，并积极试图将其归咎于儿童死亡，尽管没有任何证据支持这些指控。

In 2021, at the height of the pandemic, Kennedy petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to revoke authorization of COVID-19 vaccines and refrain from issuing any other approvals, also falsely claiming that the “risks of serious adverse events or deaths outweigh the benefits.” Instead, Kennedy’s petition urged the FDA to promote the use of the de-worming drug ivermectin and the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine against COVID-19, which were found to be ineffective and potentially risky in large, high-quality clinical trials. 2021 年疫情高峰期，肯尼迪曾向美国食品药品监督管理局（FDA）请愿，要求撤销新冠疫苗的授权并停止发放任何其他批准，同时错误地声称“严重不良事件或死亡的风险超过了益处”。相反，肯尼迪的请愿书敦促 FDA 推广使用驱虫药伊维菌素和抗疟疾药物羟氯喹来治疗新冠，而大型高质量临床试验已证明这些药物无效且具有潜在风险。

Last year, Kennedy unilaterally revoked recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines for children (as well as during pregnancy). Last fall, he also dragged his feet on signing off on CDC recommendations for the shot. 去年，肯尼迪单方面撤销了针对儿童（以及孕期）的新冠疫苗接种建议。去年秋天，他在签署 CDC 的疫苗接种建议时也表现得拖拖拉拉。

Current recommendations

当前的建议

After a federal judge reversed many changes Kennedy made to federal vaccine guidance, the current CDC vaccine schedule for children says that healthy children aged 6 months to 17 years can get the vaccine through “shared clinical decision-making” and children who are moderately or severely immunocompromised are recommended to get the shot. 在联邦法官推翻了肯尼迪对联邦疫苗指南所做的多项修改后，CDC 目前的儿童疫苗接种时间表显示，6 个月至 17 岁的健康儿童可以通过“共同临床决策”接种疫苗，而中度或重度免疫功能低下的儿童则被建议接种。

The guidance differs from what leading medical organizations have recommended for this year. Earlier this month, 2026–27 respiratory virus immunization recommendations and the evidence base behind them were released in a collaborative effort by the American Medical Association, the Vaccine Integrity Project, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). 该指南与主要医疗机构今年的建议有所不同。本月早些时候，美国医学会、疫苗诚信项目、美国儿科学会（AAP）、美国家庭医师学会（AAFP）、美国妇产科医师学会（ACOG）和美国传染病学会（IDSA）联合发布了 2026-27 年度呼吸道病毒免疫建议及其背后的证据基础。

The medical groups recommend that children aged 2 to 18 get vaccinated if they are at higher risk or if they desire to be vaccinated. But, notably, they continue to strongly urge that all infants age 6 months to 23 months get vaccinated against COVID-19. 这些医疗团体建议，2 至 18 岁的儿童如果属于高风险人群或有接种意愿，应接种疫苗。但值得注意的是，他们仍然强烈敦促所有 6 个月至 23 个大的婴儿接种新冠疫苗。

“The youngest children remain at high risk for severe disease,” American Academy of Pediatrics wrote in a news release this month. The hospitalization rate of infants 6 to 11 months during the 2024-’25 season was higher than that of adults ages 50-64 years, the academy noted. And most young children hospitalized with COVID-19 are healthy and not at high risk; only about 42 percent of children ages 6 to 23 months hospitalized from October 2022 to April 2024 had an underlying condition. “幼儿仍然面临严重疾病的高风险，”美国儿科学会在本月的一份新闻稿中写道。该学会指出，在 2024-25 流行季，6 至 11 个月大婴儿的住院率高于 50 至 64 岁的成年人。此外，大多数因新冠住院的幼儿身体健康，并不属于高风险人群；在 2022 年 10 月至 2024 年 4 月期间住院的 6 至 23 个月大的儿童中，只有约 42% 患有基础疾病。

Roberta DeBiasi, who led the AAP Committee on Infectious Diseases COVID-19 subgroup, said “If you look at it from the standpoint of how severe their disease can be, the number of hospitalizations and how many of those children you’d need to vaccinate to prevent that, it’s really on par with the older adults.” 领导 AAP 传染病委员会新冠病毒小组的 Roberta DeBiasi 表示：“如果你从疾病严重程度、住院人数以及需要接种多少疫苗才能预防住院的角度来看，这实际上与老年人相当。”