Shannon Fyfe Publishes Article in JAMA Pediatrics The article examines the shifting guidance from the federal government on administering COVID-19 vaccinations to children.

By Law Communications
October 13, 2025

Washington and Lee law professor Shannon Fyfe has published an article in JAMA Pediatrics with coauthor Elizabeth Lanphier. The article, “Reconsidering Off-Label Pediatric COVID-19 Vaccination,” examines how health professionals should respond to shifting guidance from the federal government on administering COVID-19 vaccinations to children.

“Off-label vaccination is not a widespread public health strategy. Structural responses are also necessary, like the American Academy of Pediatrics publishing its own vaccine schedule and filing a lawsuit against HHS challenging the legality of the Secretary’s decision to remove healthy children and pregnant people from the CDC immunization schedules. However, vaccinating children off-label is an ethically and legally supportable tool at a time when other tools are being removed from the toolkit. It is a decision between parents and trusted pediatricians that may also be involved for other vaccines as the regulatory and public health administrative landscape evolves and until policy priorities from federal health care agency leaders return to evidence-based public health,” the authors write.

Professor Fyfe’s research interests are in legal philosophy, ethics, and political philosophy, with a focus on philosophy and international conflict, particularly international criminal law. She holds both a Ph.D. in philosophy and a J.D. from Vanderbilt University.

The article is available online (with subscription) at the W&L Scholarly Commons.

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