You've probably noticed that COVID has slipped out of most everyday conversation.
The shot is still at your local pharmacy, and most insurance plans still cover the cost. The federal advice around it, though, has shifted in a way many families never heard about.
On October 6, 2025, the CDC updated its immunization schedule for COVID-19 vaccines. Routine COVID vaccination is no longer on the list for healthy children or for healthy pregnant women.
The agency moved these groups into what it calls "individual-based decision-making." According to the CDC, the shot is still available for anyone who wants it.
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It is now expected to come out of a conversation with a doctor rather than from a blanket recommendation.
HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. first announced the shift in May 2025.
He said the COVID shot would come off the recommended childhood and pregnancy schedule. The formal CDC change followed that fall.
Vaccines are still available and still covered
COVID-19 shots are still made by Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax for the 2026-27 respiratory virus season.
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They are stocked at pharmacies that offer other seasonal vaccines.
According to KFF, the insurance coverage requirement did not change when COVID-19 shifted into this category.
Private insurers, Medicaid, the Vaccines for Children Program and Medicare Part B must still cover the vaccine at no cost to the patient.
That means a pregnant woman or a parent who wants the shot can still get it, and the price is still covered the same way other recommended vaccines are.
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Where the major doctors' groups stand
The country's leading obstetrics group has not followed the federal step back. It continues to recommend the vaccine for the groups the CDC's schedule moved out of routine care.
On September 2, 2026, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued its 2026-27 respiratory virus recommendations.
It told pregnant, postpartum and pregnancy-planning women to get the COVID-19 shot.
ACOG cited more than five years of safety data showing no increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth or birth defects from maternal COVID vaccination.
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"Vaccination is standard preventive care, and complications can occur in pregnancy as a result of not being vaccinated that are completely preventable," said Dr. Camille A. Clare, president of ACOG.
For the 2026-27 respiratory virus season, the CDC's schedule recommends the COVID-19 vaccine for all adults 18 and older. It also recommends it for children ages 6 months to 17 years with moderate or severe immunocompromise.
For other healthy children and for healthy pregnant women, the shot stays available through shared decision-making with a doctor rather than as part of routine care.
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This article is made and published by Ida-Marie Palm Varbæk, who may have used AI in the preparation.