Overview
- The FDA approved updated COVID-19 vaccines for the 2026–27 season about three weeks ago, but the CDC has not started accepting orders through the Vaccines for Children program.
- States cannot place VFC orders until HHS signs off, so roughly half of U.S. children who rely on VFC remain unable to get the new pediatric doses through that federal channel.
- Pfizer and Moderna say they have shipped pediatric doses and retail pharmacies have begun receiving supplies, so the problem is program access not manufacturer shortages.
- The delay is tied to legal and administrative disruption of the CDC advisory panel ACIP after HHS replaced its members in 2025 and a federal judge ruled that overhaul unlawful, leaving ACIP unable to meet and vote on coverage.
- Public health officials warn the hold-up could worsen access gaps for low-income and uninsured families and complicate response while demand for pediatric COVID shots remains low and other outbreaks, such as measles, strain local health systems.