NYS, city health departments endorse COVID-19 vaccine for all adults, breaking with federal government

The New York State and New York City health departments Thursday endorsed major medical groups’ vaccination recommendations for COVID-19, the flu and RSV, in another break with what the federal government advises.

The main difference is with the COVID vaccine: The Food and Drug Administration last month approved the new vaccine just for people 65 and older, or for those with certain health conditions that put them at higher risk for severe COVID-19 outcomes. The medical societies, and now the state, support it for all adults, children 6 to 23 months and some older children, especially those with certain health conditions.

New Yorkers should follow the state’s and medical groups’ recommendations, said Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Stony Brook Medicine.

"The medical groups are the ones invested in keeping their patients healthy," she said. "They are the ones who deal on a daily basis with patients being sick, being hospitalized or dying."

The guidelines of major medical societies and the federal government had long been in sync, but that changed when longtime vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. became secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"As the State's doctor, I want to remind everyone that vaccines are the best protection against serious illness from respiratory infections," state health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in a statement Thursday.

In 2025, there were 27,000 hospitalizations statewide for the flu, 14,000 for respiratory syncytial virus and 13,000 for COVID-19, he said.

The CDC has not yet issued recommendations for the latest version of the COVID vaccine, in part because federal courts have blocked its Kennedy-appointed advisory committee from meeting. The committee includes several people who are vocally skeptical of vaccines.

CDC recommendations for last year’s COVID vaccine were deliberately confusing, said Dr. Bruce Farber, chief of public health and epidemiology at Northwell Health.

Even for people 65 and older, who the CDC itself says are at significantly higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19, the agency recommends the vaccine only as part of "shared clinical decision-making" based on conversations between the doctor and patient. More than 80% of COVID deaths are among people 65 and older.

"That’s not a full throated endorsement," Farber said. "And they’re doing that on purpose. That makes it sounds like it’s debatable. And that’s not the case"

Farber said the medical groups are basing their recommendations on scientific evidence, unlike the CDC.

"They can’t be trusted on their vaccine guidance and I think New York State is right on the money," he said.

Insurers in most cases are required by law only to cover CDC-recommended vaccines. But even with the CDC limiting who is included in its recommendations, major private insurers have promised to continue coverage for the COVID and other vaccines at least through the end of 2027, said Josh Michaud, associate director of global health and public health policy for the health policy nonprofit KFF.

By David Olson

david.olson@newsday.com@DavidOlson11

David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.