Focusing COVID shots on those who truly need them, the Trump administration is putting the brakes on liberal mass vaccination policy.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is implementing commonsense vaccine reforms that require actual evidence before healthy Americans take yet another experimental jab.
In a major policy shift announced, the Trump administration will limit approval for seasonal COVID-19 shots to seniors and high-risk individuals.
It will also demand more data before approving vaccines for healthy Americans.
The new approach ends the Biden-era policy of pushing endless boosters on all Americans regardless of their risk profile.
Vaccine manufacturers will now have to conduct substantial new studies proving their products benefit healthy individuals.
Under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance, COVID-19 vaccines will continue to be regularly approved for adults 65 and older as well as children and younger adults with underlying health conditions.
For everyone else, pharmaceutical companies must demonstrate actual benefits through thorough clinical trials.
The policy change comes as Kennedy reviews America’s vaccine policies, prioritizing safety and effectiveness over pharmaceutical industry profits.
FDA commissioner Martin Markary described the approach as a “compromise” that protects vulnerable populations while gathering proper data on whether healthy Americans need perpetual boosters.
Medical experts supporting the policy point out that America has been operating in the dark regarding the benefits of multiple boosters.
“For many Americans, we simply do not know the answer as to whether or not they should be getting the seventh or eighth or ninth or tenth COVID-19 booster,” noted Dr. Vinay Prasad.
Dr. Prasad highlighted the lack of scientific consensus behind previous vaccination recommendations.
The FDA will now require pharmaceutical companies to conduct studies lasting at least six months before approving vaccines for healthy individuals under 65.
This approach restores scientific scrutiny to the vaccine approval process after years of expedited authorizations that bypassed safety protocols during the pandemic emergency.
“We simply don’t know whether a healthy 52-year-old woman with a normal BMI who has had Covid-19 three times and has received six previous doses of a Covid-19 vaccine will benefit from the seventh dose,” Markary and Dr. Prasad stated.
The new guidelines reflect President Donald Trump’s commitment to evidence-based medicine instead of the one-size-fits-all approach pushed by the previous administration.
This policy eliminates the Biden-era practice of pushing annual COVID booster shots on the entire population, similar to flu shots, despite mounting questions about their necessity for healthy individuals with natural immunity.
While CDC data shows there were over 47,000 COVID-related deaths last year, the vast majority occurred in elderly and high-risk populations who will still have vaccine access.
The Trump administration’s targeted approach ensures those truly vulnerable to severe outcomes can get protection while preventing unnecessary vaccination of low-risk Americans who may face side effects with minimal benefit.
The FDA’s announcement comes shortly after granting full approval to Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine with similar restrictions.
