U.S. public health authorities have skirted normal procedures and announced two major policy changes that will likely reduce access to COVID-19 vaccines and restrict use to higher-risk populations. Here,

For children, yes, the CDC’s “shared decision-making” guidance preserves the status quo in which Medicaid and U.S. health-insurance companies are legally required to pay for the COVID vaccines. That also means the vaccines will remain available to low-income kids through the federal Vaccines for Children program.

The decision to scale back recommendations has raised concerns about insurance coverage and future access to COVID vaccines.