COVID-19 vaccine prevented kids' emergency room visits: CDC

Last season's COVID-19 vaccine significantly reduced kids' emergency room and urgent care visits, newly released Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows.

Why it matters: The data released on Thursday comes amid intensifying calls from anti-vaccine groups to pull immunizations off the market.

• The FDA's top vaccine regulator recently linked COVID-19 vaccines to the deaths of at least 10 children without presenting new evidence.

By the numbers: The 2024-2025 COVID shots reduced emergency department and urgent care visits linked to the virus 76% for kids ages 9 months to four years within six months, per CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

• The vaccines lowered visits by 56% in children 5 to 17 years old.
• The conclusions are consistent with CDC data from the 2023-2024 season.
• The data was collected from a collaborative vaccine effectiveness network that pulls data from providers in nine states.

What they're saying: HHS does not believe there's any conflict between the new data and recent comments from agency officials, department spokesperson Andrew Nixon told Axios.

• "CDC's analysis and FDA's safety oversight serve different purposes and attempts to frame them as contradictory misunderstand how these agencies operate. FDA leadership is focused on righting the wrongs of the Biden Administration and evaluating all emerging safety data,"

Zoom in: CDC's summary of Thursday's report says that the study shows "that updated vaccines provided added protection for those who received them."

• Parents "should discuss the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination with a health care provider. Health care providers should discuss the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination with parents," it adds.

• CDC this year dropped a broad COVID vaccine recommendation and instead accepted revised guidance from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine advisors that all people age six months and older get a COVID-19 shot based on "individual decision-making." Parents should consult with their child's doctor about the vaccine, per CDC.
• The winter 2025 COVID season was generally considered mild compared to previous years.

"I don't think this is anything new — we know that the COVID vaccine does have protective efficacy against emergency department visits," said Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Heath Security.

Between the lines: HHS laid off many staff who produce the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report during the government shutdown earlier this year, before rescinding the firings.