(Reuters) -The West Coast Health Alliance, including the states of California, Oregon, and Hawaii, on Wednesday recommended COVID-19 vaccines in all adults and children who choose protection, in contrast to the U.S. government’s narrowed approvals for the shots.
The alliance said it recommends updated COVID-19 vaccines for all children between six and 23 months, and two to 18-year-olds with risk factors or who were never vaccinated against COVID-19.
The recommendations contrast with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which last month approved the updated vaccines for people with health conditions and all people aged 65 and older.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s sweeping federal vaccine policy changes, including withdrawing COVID vaccine recommendations for pregnant women and healthy children in May, have prompted medical organizations and several states to formulate their own recommendations ahead of the fall immunization campaign to prevent loss of access to the shots.
Typically, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a federal advisory body to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, advises on who should receive vaccines and at what intervals after the FDA approval.
The recommendations of the West Coast Health Alliance on respiratory syncytial virus and influenza vaccines were in line with those of the CDC.
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
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