Washington — HHS Holds Back Children's Covid Vaccines in 11 States

The Trump administration is withholding updated Covid-19 vaccines for children in at least 11 states and one U.S. territory, and federal officials have given no date for when — or whether — the shots will be released, according to a report from The Guardian.

The delay runs through the Vaccines for Children program, a federally funded system that supplies free immunizations to eligible kids nationwide. The Department of Health and Human Services has not distributed pediatric Covid doses through that pipeline even as updated shots roll out elsewhere in the country during a Covid wave, the Guardian reported.

How many states are affected by the delay?

At least 11 states and one U.S. territory, American Samoa, are affected, per the Guardian's reporting. Some of those states are "universal" purchasers, meaning they buy vaccines through the federal program for every child in the state regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. In those states, the VFC holdup blocks access for all children, not just those who qualify individually for the program.

What share of U.S. children rely on this program?

More than half of children in the United States get their vaccines through VFC, the Guardian reported, citing a figure of 52% of children who are eligible because they are Alaska Native or American Indian, are uninsured or underinsured, or are enrolled in or eligible for Medicaid. For that population, and for children in universal-purchase states and territories, the absence of a VFC shipment means no access to the updated pediatric Covid vaccine through the program that normally supplies it.

What have former federal health officials said about the move?

Daniel Jernigan, former director of the CDC's National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, said the pattern extends beyond Covid shots. "They're using every means possible to try and make it harder to get vaccinated," Jernigan told the Guardian. He said the Covid delay could be a way of "testing the waters" before applying the same approach to other vaccines distributed through VFC, adding, "There's nothing preventing them from doing that for the other vaccines as well."

Demetre Daskalakis, former director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, focused on the practical effect for families. "The delay in VFC means delays in these states' ability to get vaccine for all children," Daskalakis said, according to the Guardian.

Why does this matter beyond Covid shots?

Because VFC is the delivery system for a broad slate of childhood immunizations, not just Covid vaccines, the precedent concerns former officials quoted by the Guardian. If the administration can hold back one vaccine indefinitely without explanation, they argue, the same mechanism could be used to slow-walk distribution of other shots the program funds. HHS has not laid out a public timeline or rationale for the Covid delay specifically, according to the reporting.

What is the timeline so far?

• Ongoing: A Covid wave is affecting the U.S. as updated pediatric vaccines roll out in the broader market.
• Ongoing: HHS has not shipped Covid vaccines through the VFC program to the 11 affected states and American Samoa.
• Sept. 23, 2026: The Guardian reports the delay, quoting former CDC officials Jernigan and Daskalakis, with no federal timeline announced for resolution.

No further dates have been made public for when — or whether — HHS will begin distributing the vaccines through VFC, per the available reporting.

Glossary

• Vaccines for Children (VFC) program: A federally funded program that provides free vaccines to eligible children, including those who are Alaska Native or American Indian, uninsured, underinsured, or enrolled in or eligible for Medicaid. More than half of U.S. children receive their immunizations through it, according to the Guardian.
• Universal purchase state: A state or territory that buys vaccines through the VFC system for all children within its borders, regardless of a family's insurance coverage or income, rather than limiting the program to individually eligible children.
• HHS (Department of Health and Human Services): The federal agency that oversees vaccine distribution through VFC and sets the policy at issue in the delay.

The Guardian's reporting does not specify which 11 states are affected or provide an HHS statement responding to the delay. HTT News will update this story if the department issues a timeline or public explanation.