The Department of Health and Human Services is reportedly planning to drop recommendations for routine COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women, teens and children.

The plan was first reported late Thursday by The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is part of HHS, recommends that individuals aged six months and older should be given an updated vaccine, regardless of previous inoculations for the disease, according to Reuters. 

The World Health Organization in May 2023 declared the COVID pandemic over. The United Nations-led agency on Jan 30, 2020, declared COVID a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern." The agency reports 7 million people worldwide have died as a result of the virus.