Amid ongoing discussions in Washington, a new study from the CDC affirms that COVID-19 vaccinations continue to play a crucial role in mitigating severe illness in children.

Released this week, the CDC’s analysis highlights that the latest COVID-19 vaccines for 2024–2025 significantly lower the risk of severe illness in children. The study indicates that vaccinated children are far less likely to visit emergency rooms or urgent care facilities due to the virus.

The research scrutinized around 98,000 emergency and urgent care visits across the nation, spanning from late summer 2024 to early fall 2025. For children aged 9 months to 4 years, vaccinations slashed the risk of COVID-related emergency visits by 76%. Meanwhile, for those aged 5 to 17, the reduction stood at 56%.

Crucially, the study acknowledged that many of the participating children already possessed some immunity from previous infections or earlier vaccinations. Yet, even with prior immunity, the updated vaccine offered substantial additional protection.

These insights emerge during a period of heightened scrutiny for public health institutions. Recently, some federal officials have expressed doubts about the benefits of COVID vaccination for healthy children. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., along with some FDA representatives, has argued that there is insufficient evidence supporting the vaccines’ effectiveness in children.

That skepticism has fueled concern among public health experts, particularly as the CDC has undergone staffing upheaval and political pressure. The agency’s Office of Science, which produces the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report where the study was published, was affected by layoffs during last fall’s government shutdown before those cuts were reversed.

Dr. Debra Houry, who stepped down as the CDC’s chief medical officer in August, said the study’s publication was encouraging.

“It is good to see that data and science are still coming out of the MMWR,” Dr. Houry said in a text message. “I hope this publication will continue to be a voice for the agency scientists despite the recent cuts.”

The CDC’s own research history has consistently shown that COVID vaccines reduce severe outcomes in both adults and children. Still, federal guidance has shifted. Earlier this year, the CDC stopped universally recommending COVID vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women, instead advising families to discuss vaccination with their doctors.

Meanwhile, several former FDA commissioners have pushed back forcefully against claims that the vaccines are ineffective or dangerous, writing that “… substantial evidence shows that vaccination can reduce the risk of severe disease and hospitalization in many children and adolescents.”