Update Sept. 3, 2025: Washington, Oregon, and California have come together to form the West Coast Health Alliance — a partnership meant to give families clear, science-based guidance on vaccines and public health. For parents, this means the three states will now work to align recommendations and keep advice consistent. Exactly how this plays out — and what access will look like for kids and families — is still taking shape.
If you were looking to protect yourself and your kids from COVID-19 for another year by getting the newest booster, released this week, you are not in luck. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revised the license for the newest vaccine, rendering a significant portion of Americans ineligible.
The agency has limited recipients to seniors (over 65) and individuals between the ages of 16 and 64 who have a condition that puts them at risk of complications from the disease. No healthy parents, no healthy kids.
“We are deeply concerned that these additional limits will make it more challenging for people who want to protect themselves to access the vaccine, including parents who want their children to be protected and pregnant people,” said Dr. Eric Chow, chief of Communicable Disease Epidemiology and Immunizations for Public Health – Seattle & King County. “Several medical societies that review the data have deemed that the COVID vaccine continues to be safe and works well.”
Why health experts disagree with the FDA
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) mirrored Chow’s sentiments:
“COVID-19 vaccines remain our best tool to prevent severe disease, hospitalization, and death due to COVID-19 — for healthy adults, children, pregnant patients, and others at higher risk,” Dr. Tina Tan, FIDSA, FPIDS, FAAP, president of the IDSA, said in a statement.
“By narrowing its approval, the FDA has made a decision that completely contradicts the evidence base, severely undermines trust in science-driven policy, and dangerously limits vaccine access, removing millions of Americans’ choice to be protected and increasing the risk of severe outcomes from COVID,” Tan said.
Local experts say the FDA announcement raises a lot of questions when it comes to vaccinating kids.
“I think there is a great deal of uncertainty about what this FDA ruling actually means regarding access to COVID-19 vaccines for younger children,” said Dr. Frank Bell with Providence Swedish’s Pediatric Infectious Disease program. “But it’s likely not good, any of it, and bound to increase confusion for everyone involved – parents, grandparents, pediatric providers, pharmacists, etc. This is especially likely since we’re still uncertain about what this may actually mean for children – particularly healthy kids between the ages of 6 months and 4 years old – for whom now there may be no vaccine approved and available in the U.S.”
What the changes mean for parents and kids
Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH, PhD, an epidemiologist, wife, mom, and founder of the newsletter Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE), points out that while the FDA has severely limited the vaccine previously recommended to all people over 6 months of age, professional medical organizations have countered the restrictions with their own recommendations. Many don’t line up with the FDA’s rules.
- Pregnant and postpartum parents: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends all pregnant women, those planning to get pregnant, and those who have just had babies get the shot. Says Dr. Bell: “The news will add to uncertainty around pregnant mothers getting vaccinated and passing protection onto their newborns.”
- Children: The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recently issued recommendations that all children between the ages of 6 months to 23 months old, and all children at high risk between 2 and 18 years old should be immunized. It also recommends that any child considered “high-risk” or kids living with a high-risk adult be vaccinated. AAP goes further, suggesting that children not in risk groups, but “whose parent or guardian desires their protection from COVID-19” be offered the new shot.
“The CDC recently published data from 2022-2024 to show that rates of hospitalization, including ICU admissions, were as high for infants in the first six months of life as they were for adults between ages 65 to 75, while rates for kids between 6 and 23 months old were comparable to those for adults between 50 and 65 years old,” Dr. Bell stressed.
“Most of these hospitalizations are expected to be preventable by immunization of pregnant moms and children between the ages of 6 months and two years old,” he adds. “It is our collective belief that all children whose parents want them immunized should be able to get immunized, both to protect themselves and to protect their family members and classmates.”
Bell expressed concern that while older children with underlying health concerns should be able to get the Moderna vaccine, “it’s not clear if and how this will be regulated, and the confusion may dissuade people from trying.”
The role of doctors and off-label vaccines
Tan stressed that physicians can still provide COVID-19 vaccines off-label to any patient they think would benefit from them.
“The IDSA strongly urges doctors to continue recommending and administering vaccination to their patients based on the best available science,” Tan said.
Due to restrictions on pharmacists’ ability to provide off-label vaccines, Tan added that physicians will play a “vital role in maintaining access.” She called on insurers to continue covering COVID vaccines “consistent with multiple medical society recommendations and scientific evidence.”
The upshot is that if you want a shot for yourself or your kids, your best bet is likely to be your obstetrician, pediatrician, or doctor. Still, Jetelina worries that because off-label use of vaccines has to be given by doctors, some will be reticent. Whether insurance companies will cover off-label vaccines remains to be seen.
High-risk conditions and self-attestation
The FDA has not defined what “high risk” means; however, FDA rules usually default to the CDC list of conditions considered high risk. Under U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. the list is likely to change in September, according to Jetelina.
Will we need documentation to prove we’re “at risk?”
Pharmacies will likely go with something called “self-attestation.” In other words, you need to check a box that says you have a high-risk condition. It’s unlikely that insurance will check this against your medical records, but it’s possible.
New COVID-19 vaccine timing
King County is currently experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases. Although those who have not been sick recently should try to get the new vaccine as soon as possible, those who have recently had the disease should wait six months. Jetelina recommends that those at high risk who haven’t had a vaccine in the last six months get one as soon as possible.
What pediatric doses are available?
Vaccine producer Moderna has a vaccine formulated for children under the age of 5. Pfizer does not. Dr. Bell expects it may be difficult to access COVID-19 vaccines for children and teens this fall. It will “be particularly problematic for younger kids – those between six months and 23 months old – who need them the most.”
Here are the pediatric vaccines currently available from each maker:
- Pfizer’s COMIRNATY COVID-19 vaccine for those 5 years and older
- Moderna’s SPIKEVAX for those 6 months and older
- Novavax’s NUVAXOVID for those 12 years and older
What families should do right now
Jetelina has these suggestions for kids and adults who aren’t within the limited FDA-approved age range for the new COVID-19 vaccine: parents should contact their child’s pediatrician to ask whether they will follow AAP recommendations or not. They should also contact their own physician’s office and pharmacy to inquire about access.
Public Health Seattle & King County plans to release more information about the new COVID-19 vaccine on its blog, Public Health Insider, soon.
