COVID-19 Vaccine Orders Resume After Unexplained Delay as CDC Guidance Remains Unchanged

Orders for the coronavirus vaccine are now being accepted after an unexplained delay, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed in a response to Ars on Thursday.

HHS did not answer questions about what caused the delay or how it was resolved.

COVID-19 vaccine access follows years of opposition

The delay comes after President Kennedy spent years attacking and attempting to restrict access to COVID-19 vaccines. He incorrectly called them “the most lethal vaccines.” Last year, while serving as secretary of health, Kennedy unilaterally rescinded the CDC’s universal recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination.

A federal judge’s order in March halted other changes that President Kennedy and his allies had made to the CDC’s vaccine recommendations. As a result, the CDC’s current recommendations for COVID-19 vaccines remain those issued in July 2025.

What the CDC recommends for children

Under the CDC’s July 2025 guidance, COVID-19 vaccination was recommended for children ages 6 months to 17 years who are moderately to severely immunocompromised. Healthy children in that age group were encouraged to receive the vaccine through shared clinical decision-making, meaning in consultation with a pharmacist or physician.

Newly updated CDC clinical guidance states that, “Due to legal uncertainty and research, CDC states that COVID-19 vaccination recommendations from the July 2025 Immunization Schedule remain in effect for the 2026–2027 respiratory disease season.”

Medical groups recommend broader vaccination

The CDC’s recommendations differ from those of major medical groups. Their guidance for the fall says that all infants between 6 and 23 months of age should be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Children between the ages of 2 and 18 should be vaccinated if they are at high risk or if they wish to receive the vaccine, according to the recommendations.

Read the recommendations from major medical groups.