The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said the vaccines remain "the best way" for pregnant women to "protect themselves and their pregnancy."

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) plans to stop recommending that pregnant women, children and teens routinely take the COVID-19 vaccine, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Currently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all children ages 6 months and up get the COVID-19 shot. The COVID-19 vaccine is also one of four vaccines recommended for pregnant women.

The CDC is expected to change its recommendations in the coming days, unnamed sources told the WSJ. Spokespeople for HHS, CDC and the White House did not respond to requests for confirmation by the WSJ Thursday, or The Defender today.

The WSJ said it wasn't clear if the department was planning to remove the recommendation or advise patients to discuss the risks and benefits with their doctors.

Assuming the WSJ report is accurate, the shift will coincide with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) plan to launch a new framework for approving vaccines, the report said.

FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said Thursday, "I am not encouraging or insisting young, healthy children to get a Covid shot unless there is new evidence that emerges that suggests there is a clear benefit," the WSJ reported.

A change in COVID-19 vaccine recommendations would mark a major departure from CDC policy over the last four years. However, it would be aligned with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s long-held position that the COVID-19 vaccines pose serious safety risks for everyone, including children.

Critics of the COVID-19 vaccines welcomed the news, with most calling it "long overdue." They also called for further and immediate action by the public health agencies.

Children's Health Defense (CHD) CEO Mary Holland told The Defender:

"CHD has opposed the COVID shot recommendation for children since the beginning. And this is just the start of a critical reassessment of all childhood vaccines based on real science."

Dr. Peter McCullough, a cardiologist who has published extensively on the dangers of the COVID-19 vaccine, said:

"Two presidents, three HHS Secretaries, three FDA Commissioners, and nearly five years into the disastrous COVID-19 vaccine debacle, women and children receive long overdue yet welcome news.