that can modestly slow the memory-destroying disease.

“If the vaccine were no longer available or covered by insurance, it will take the choice away from families who wish to protect their children from COVID-19, especially among families already facing barriers to care,” said Dr. Sean O’Leary of the American Academy of Pediatrics.Provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows more than 47,000 Americans died from COVID-related causes last year. The virus was the underlying cause for two-thirds of those and it was a contributing factor for the rest. Among them were 231 children whose deaths were deemed COVID-related, 134 of them where the virus was the direct cause -- numbers similar to yearly pediatric deaths from the flu.

The new FDA approach is the culmination of aunder Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.the use of COVID shots and raising questions about the broader availability of vaccines. It was released two days ahead of the first meeting of FDA’s outside vaccine experts under Trump.

but with major restrictions on who can get it — and Tuesday’s guidance mirrors those restrictions. The approval came after Trump appointees overruled FDA scientists’ earlier plans to approve the shot without restrictions.A vial of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine rests on a table at an inoculation station in Jackson, Miss., on July 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

A vial of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine rests on a table at an inoculation station in Jackson, Miss., on July 19, 2022. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Pfizer and Moderna, makers of the most commonly used COVID shots, each said they would continue to work with the agency.But the FDA framework,

, urges companies to conduct large, lengthy studies before tweaked vaccines can be approved for healthier people. It’s a stark break from the previous federal policy recommending an annual COVID shot for all Americans six months and older. In the paper and a subsequent online webcast, the FDA’s top vaccine official said more than 100 million Americans still should qualify for what he termed a booster under the new guidance.described the new approach as a “reasonable compromise” that will allow vaccinations in high-risk groups to continue while generating new data about whether they still benefit healthier people.

AP’s Lisa Dwyer reports there are new requirements for COVID vaccines for healthy adults and children.“For many Americans we simply do not know the answer as to whether or not they should be getting the seventh or eighth or ninth or tenth COVID-19 booster,” said Prasad, who joined the FDA earlier this month. He previously spent more than a decade in academia, frequently criticizing the FDA’s handling of drug and vaccine approvals.