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HHS spokeswoman Emily Hilliard confirmed the department has not decided whether to provide updated Covid shots through the Vaccines for Children program.

The Vaccines for Children program provides free shots to children who are uninsured, underinsured, Medicaid-eligible, American Indian, or Alaska Native.

A federal judge ruled in March that members of the ACIP appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. were not qualified to make vaccine recommendations.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the lack of a decision by HHS regarding the Vaccines for Children program.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices normally votes on whether specific vaccines will be covered by the Vaccines for Children program.

Pediatric Covid vaccine doses are available for children with insurance or for those whose parents can pay out of pocket.

About half of American children cannot receive updated Covid vaccines as of mid-September 2026 because the federal government has not made them available via the Vaccines for Children program.

Three whistle-blowers who filed the initial complaints about the Abbott plant will receive $69 million from the settlement.

A federal government complaint detailed unsanitary conditions at Abbott's Michigan plant, including roof leaks, deteriorating equipment, and inadequate cleaning.

Of the Abbott settlement, nearly $349 million will go to the federal government and over $36 million to state Medicaid and W.I.C. programs.

The Justice Department claimed Abbott purposefully avoided testing for bacterial contamination and did not share positive test results with the FDA.

In a 2022 consent decree with the Justice Department, Abbott agreed to replace its plant's roof and address sanitation, without admitting liability.

In 2025, formula company ByHeart shut down its Pennsylvania plant after its products were linked to an infant botulism outbreak and inspectors found safety violations.

Abbott stated that no unopened, distributed infant formulas, including from the homes of sickened infants, have ever tested positive for the bacteria in question.

The Justice Department announced the settlement with Abbott Laboratories on Monday, September 14, 2026.

The halting of production at Abbott's Sturgis facility contributed to a months-long nationwide formula shortage.

In 2022, Abbott recalled powdered formulas from its Sturgis plant after federal health officials linked them to four infants hospitalized with bacterial infections, two of whom died.

Abbott Laboratories did not admit liability or fault as part of its settlement.

Abbott Laboratories will pay nearly $385 million to settle claims of selling formula from facilities that did not meet safety requirements.

Time magazine's cover story on April 2, 1965, was titled “The Computer Society.”