WASHINGTON

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has ended its recommendation that healthy pregnant women and children receive routine coronavirus vaccines, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday.

Kennedy, a vocal vaccine skeptic, made the announcement in a video on social media, saying that with the decision, "we're now one step closer to realizing President Trump's promise to make America healthy again."

"As of today, the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule," Kennedy said.

It is unclear how the new recommendations will be implemented, particularly for pregnant women because pregnancy has been listed as a risk factor for developing severe COVID-19 illnesses, according to the Mayo Clinic.

"Pregnancy is a factor that raises the risk of severe COVID-19. That risk stays higher for at least a month after giving birth," the American academic medical center said on its website.

Kennedy's announcement comes one week after Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary announced that the agency plans to restrict new COVID-19 shots to older adults and those with underlying medical conditions. The move was a stark departure from past efforts to combat the disease based on attempts at securing universal vaccination.