RFK Jr.’s FDA Severely Restricts COVID Vaccine Use
The vaccine will only be available to those at high risk from COVID—excluding those who may need it to protect a relative or friend.
Illustration by Eric Faison/The Daily Beast/Getty Images
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine—with strict conditions.
Coming after four years of clinical trials, the vaccine will only be available for older adults and people over the age of 12 who have at least one medical condition that means they’re at high risk from COVID, according to The New York Times.
Advisers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been debating whether to recommend COVID vaccines for only the most vulnerable. The decision to restrict who can access the Novavax vaccine would appear to resolve the question, at least in part.
The restrictions mean that healthy adults under the age of 65 who may want the vaccine for reasons other than their own health—to protect an immunocompromised relative or friend, for example—will not be able to get the Novavax vaccine. It also leaves those same people vulnerable if a more virulent strain of COVID comes along.
Critics have expressed concern that the restrictions reflect Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr‘s vaccine skepticism, with one ousted FDA vaccine chief describing Kennedy’s tenure thus far as “very scary.”
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy is a vaccine skeptic who has ordered an investigation into the discredited claim that vaccines cause autism.
Samuel Corum/Getty
The vaccine was previously only authorized for emergency use, whereas vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna were granted full approval by the FDA in 2022. Both of those companies are currently developing updated versions of their vaccines for the fall.
The Novavax COVID vaccine has been approved after four years of testing, but will not be available to anyone who wants it.
Douglas Levere / University at Buffalo
The New York Times spoke to Dr. Camille Kotton, an infectious disease physician and former CDC adviser, who said that the decision to restrict access was “incredibly disappointing.” She continued, “I don’t know why they would make this restriction; I don’t know of any indication to make this change.“
Kotton, who cares for immunocompromised patients at Massachusetts General Hospital, added, “This is a dark day in American medicine.”
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Unlock a year of full access to The Looker and The Daily Beast for $35.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Looker and The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.
Sign in
Login dialog