Trump Administration Shifts COVID Vaccine Policy: Shots Now Limited to High-Risk Groups

Washington, D.C. — A major shift in the nation’s COVID-19 vaccination strategy is underway.

The Trump administration announced a new policy this week that will limit fall COVID-19 vaccinations to seniors and individuals with underlying health conditions, leaving millions of otherwise healthy Americans uncertain about their access to updated shots.

According to new guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), healthy adults under 65 will not be automatically eligible for updated COVID vaccines this fall — a significant departure from the previous policy that recommended annual shots for nearly all Americans ages six months and older.

A More Selective Approach

FDA officials, writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, outlined a more targeted strategy. The plan maintains easy access to vaccines for seniors and high-risk individuals, while recommending extensive clinical trials for companies seeking to offer the shot to healthier populations.

“For many Americans, we simply do not know if they still need another booster,” said Dr. Vinay Prasad, the FDA’s new top vaccine official. Prasad joined the agency this month after years of academic work often critical of how vaccines were reviewed and approved.

Despite the narrower approach, Prasad estimated that over 100 million Americans — including older adults, immunocompromised individuals, and some with chronic illnesses — would still qualify for the upcoming booster.

Pushback From Health Experts and Parents

The move has stirred concern among pediatricians and public health experts.

Dr. Paul Offit, a leading vaccine specialist at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, questioned how access will be determined in practice:

“Is the pharmacist going to decide if you’re in a high-risk group? This could make vaccines less accessible and harder to insure.”

Dr. Sean O’Leary of the American Academy of Pediatrics warned that the policy might further reduce vaccine access for children, especially in low-income families.

“Removing insurance coverage or availability would take the choice away from families who want to protect their kids from COVID-19,” O’Leary said.

COVID Still a Threat

Although COVID-related deaths have declined, the virus remains a public health threat. According to provisional CDC data, over 47,000 Americans died from COVID in 2023, including 231 children. Two-thirds of those deaths were directly caused by the virus.

A Break From Past Practices

For years, the U.S. government recommended annual COVID-19 boosters for nearly everyone, similar to flu shots. Vaccine makers like Pfizer and Moderna adapted their formulas each year to match circulating strains — and the FDA approved them without requiring extensive new trials, so long as they showed comparable protection.

That era appears to be ending.

The new policy, backed by FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, emphasizes personalized vaccine guidance based on risk — much like in Europe, where eligibility is based on age and vulnerability.

Future approvals for healthy adults may now require full-scale clinical trials, including random assignment to vaccine or placebo groups, to measure effectiveness against severe illness and hospitalization.

A Controversial Rollout

The rollout of this new guidance has raised eyebrows. Instead of issuing a standard draft for public comment, as is typical for FDA policies, the agency published its guidance directly in a medical journal — a move some former FDA staff say skirts federal procedures.

The new approach comes just days before the FDA’s first vaccine advisory panel under Trump and follows a string of moves by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has filled key health posts with vocal critics of past vaccine policies.

Even the recent full approval of Novavax’s COVID shot came with strict limitations on who can receive it — echoing the administration’s tighter stance.

Looking Ahead

The CDC will convene an advisory panel in June to discuss future vaccine recommendations by group, but some worry the FDA’s announcement may already be pre-empting that process.

Dr. Offit pointed out that CDC research still shows benefits from boosters for even healthy adults, offering short-term protection from mild to moderate illness.

Bottom Line

The new Trump-era vaccine policy represents a major pivot in how COVID-19 is handled moving forward — narrowing access to updated shots and signaling a shift away from universal vaccination toward a more selective, risk-based approach.

How this will affect public health outcomes — and vaccine confidence — remains to be seen.