Richard H. Hughes, IV, Member of the Firm in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, was quoted in The Wall Street Journal, in “HHS to Stop Recommending Routine Covid Shots for Children, Pregnant Women,” by Liz Essley Whyte. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
The Trump administration is planning to drop recommendations that pregnant women, teenagers and children get Covid-19 vaccines as a matter of routine, according to people familiar with the matter. …
Richard Hughes, a lawyer and vaccine advocate, said he was worried about immunocompromised people who prefer to have friends and family vaccinated. He also said the move would “have a behavioral impact on whether people choose to get vaccinated.”
Related reading:
- May 16, 2025: People, “Trump Administration Plans to Stop Recommending Routine COVID Shot for Children, Pregnant Women: Report,” by Cara Lynn Shultz.
Critics of the move said it can discourage vaccination, which can severely impact the health of immunocompromised people who rely on herd immunity. Lawyer and vaccine advocate Richard Hughes told the WSJ that rolling back the recommendations would “have a behavioral impact on whether people choose to get vaccinated.”
- May 17, 2025: Vanity Fair, “Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Who Leads the Department of Health and Human Services, Will Soon Announce the Changes to the Vaccine Schedule,” by Katie Herchenroeder.
The Health Department’s expected move to stop recommending the COVID vaccine to pregnant people, teenagers, and children could further endanger immunocompromised people across the nation, according to Richard Hughes, a lawyer and vaccine advocate. Doing so would “have a behavioral impact on whether people choose to get vaccinated,” he told the WSJ.
