Despite the debate in Washington, a recent CDC study shows that COVID vaccines still reduce severe illness in children.
A study released this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that COVID-19 vaccines continue to significantly reduce the risk of severe illness in otherwise healthy children. According to the analysis, children who received the updated 2024–2025 COVID vaccines were far less likely to end up in emergency rooms or urgent care settings due to the virus.
Researchers examined nearly 98,000 emergency and urgent care visits nationwide between late summer 2024 and early fall 2025. Among children between 9 months and 4-years-old, vaccination lowered the risk of COVID-related emergency visits by 76%. For kids ages 5 to 17, the reduction was 56%.
Importantly, the researchers noted that many of the children studied already had some level of immunity from past infections or earlier vaccinations. The data specifically measured the added protection provided by the most recent vaccine and still found meaningful benefits.
The findings arrive at a tense moment for public health agencies. Recently, some federal leaders have publicly questioned whether healthy children benefit from COVID vaccination. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has repeatedly claimed there is no reliable evidence showing effectiveness in children, a position echoed by some officials at the Food and Drug Administration.
That skepticism has fueled concern among public health experts, particularly as the CDC has undergone staffing upheaval and political pressure. The agency’s Office of Science, which produces the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report where the study was published, was affected by layoffs during last fall’s government shutdown before those cuts were reversed.
Dr. Debra Houry, who stepped down as the CDC’s chief medical officer in August, said the study’s publication was encouraging.
“It is good to see that data and science are still coming out of the MMWR,” Dr. Houry said in a text message. “I hope this publication will continue to be a voice for the agency scientists despite the recent cuts.”
The CDC’s own research history has consistently shown that COVID vaccines reduce severe outcomes in both adults and children. Still, federal guidance has shifted. Earlier this year, the CDC stopped universally recommending COVID vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women, instead advising families to discuss vaccination with their doctors.
Meanwhile, several former FDA commissioners have pushed back forcefully against claims that the vaccines are ineffective or dangerous, writing that “… substantial evidence shows that vaccination can reduce the risk of severe disease and hospitalization in many children and adolescents.”
