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Up to $400 million worth of classic cars will roll across the auction block in Monterey and Pebble Beach this week, marking the biggest test of the year for the collectible car market and wealthy owners.
An estimated 1,140 classic cars will come up for sale at Monterey Car Week, the annual gathering of classic car collectors from around the world.
The sales total is estimated to come in between $367 million and $409 million, according to Hagerty, which could mark a third straight year of declines.

A general view at Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on August 18, 2024 in Monterey, California. Since 1950, the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance has hosted the world’s most beautiful and expensive collectable cars on the Competition Field along Carmel Bay.
Matt Jelonek | Getty Images News | Getty Images

A version of this article appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth newsletter with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high-net-worth investor and consumer. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.
Up to $400 million worth of classic cars will roll across the auction block in Monterey and Pebble Beach this week, marking the biggest test of the year for the collectible car market and wealthy owners.

An estimated 1,140 classic cars will come up for sale at Monterey Car Week, the annual gathering of classic car collectors from around the world. The sales total is estimated to come in between $367 million and $409 million, according to Hagerty. The midpoint of that range, at $388 million, would mark the third year of declines in sales, and an 18% drop from the recent peak of $471 million in 2022.
The high end of the market is the weakest. The Monterey auctions – held by RM Sotheby’s, Gooding & Co., Mecum, Bonhams and others – have traditionally featured at least a half-dozen cars priced at $10 million or more. This year there’s only one – the fewest in over a decade. The average sale price has dropped to $473,000 this year from $477,000 last year.

“Pebble Beach is the annual health check on the market,” said Simon Kidston, a classic car advisor and dealer. “Everybody waits to see what happens at Pebble Beach before committing to a major decision the rest of the year.”
Like the art market and other types of collectibles, classic cars have been in slow decline since the pandemic rally in 2021 and 2022. Collectibles prices are down 2.7% over the past 12 months, according to the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index. Classic car prices are down 0.2% overall – better than the 20% drop in the art market but not as strong as jewelry (up 2.5%) or coins (up 13%).
Classic car dealers and auctioneers blame global uncertainty, with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, along with weakness in China. Higher interest rates are also a factor, raising the opportunity cost of buying a classic car, since risk-free cash still earns over 4% or more. Some also point to a surging stock market for the past three years, which makes collectibles relatively less attractive.  

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Yet experts say the biggest reason for the classic car slowdown is a generational shift. Baby boomers, who have powered the classic car market for decades, are aging out or downsizing. The new generation of millennials and Gen Zers, who are coming into wealth and collecting, want newer and fewer collectible cars. The shift is expected to accelerate as an estimated $100 trillion is passed from older to younger generations, giving fuel to the new breed of collector.
“It’s a big rotation,” said McKeel Hagerty, CEO of Hagerty, the classic car insurance, auction and events company. “Some of the older-guard collectors are framing it, ‘The market is soft at the top end.’ But here’s a lot of depth in this market. It’s just rotating to younger buyers and newer cars.”
That rotation has left the market for 1950s and 1960s cars with oversupply and falling prices. Many baby boomers are trying to clear their garages and sell, while others are passing their cars on to their kids, who often don’t share the same passion.
Gooding & Co. is selling three Ferrari 250 GT California Spiders this week, including the most expensive lot of the week, a 1961 250 GT SWB California Spider with an alloy body and original hardtop estimated at over $20 million. “Cal Spiders,” as they’re known, were made famous in the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” have long been a rare and special sighting at auctions. Seeing three at the same auction series is highly unusual.
Kidston said the alloy body Cal Spider would have likely fetched $25 million to $30 million a few years ago.
“It’s one of the great road cars of all time,” he said. “It has intrinsic value, with provenance, sophistication, beauty and usability.”
Prices and demand for many cars that are over 50 years old are down as much as 20% to 30% from the peaks, dealers and brokers say.
“It’s just the question of what clears the market, and can their egos handle it,” Hagerty said. “If it’s an $18 million car, and it becomes a $13 million car, it’s still a multimillion-dollar car, which is pretty amazing.”
Hagerty said that falling prices have driven more sales to the private market, directly between buyer and seller, rather than to the auctions. Sellers with prominent cars don’t want their discounted sales prices to be public, so they opt to sell privately.
“That way nobody has to feel embarrassed,” Hagerty said. “We’re seeing a surprisingly large amount of private sales. Sometimes a car will hit the market and sell in a couple of hours and close by the end of the day.”
At the same time, auctions of newer super cars are skyrocketing. Millennials and Gen Zers are bidding up prices for rare cars from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. They also prefer cars that are more affordable and practical. Rather than keeping a $10 million 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta locked up in a private Garage Mahal, the new breed wants post-1980s Porsches, BMWs and later-model Ferraris they can enjoy every day and not have to constantly repair.
Along with affordable exotics, young collectors are also paying up for supercars, especially rare and highly specific Paganis, Bugattis and Rufs, the boutique German builder. A 1989 Ruf CTR “Yellowbird” sold in March for a record $6 million at Gooding & Co. at the Amelia Island sales.
Two years ago, the average model year of the cars being sold at Pebble was 1964. This year it’s 1974, which still underestimates the bar-bell distribution of cars from the 1950s at one end and the 1980s and 1990s cars at the other.
Sales of modern supercars — defined as those from 1975 or later – will likely overtake sales of so-called “Enzo-era” Ferraris (made before 1988) at Monterey for the first time, according to Hagerty.
Some experts even worry that the modern supercar segment has become over-inflated and speculative. Like momentum trades in the stock market, which retail investors buy on the basic premise that someone else will buy it for more, modern supercars seem to be rising indiscriminately.
“If it’s all solely reduced to what is more saleable, then collecting becomes very superficial,” Kidston said. “I don’t believe collecting should be ruled by investing. You should keep an eye on the financial implications of what you buy. But it should not be the be-all and end-all. Otherwise it just becomes like bitcoin.”
Here are the top lots from Monterey Car Week, compiled by Hagerty:

1. 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Competizione

Sold by Gooding & Co., estimated at more than $20 million

A 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Competizione up for auction at Monterey Car Week.
Mathieu Heurtault | Courtesy of Gooding & Co.

2. 1993 Ferrari F40 LM

Sold by RM Sotheby’s, estimated at $8.5 million to $9.5 million

A 1993 Ferrari F40 LM up for auction at Monterey Car Week.
Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

3. (tied) 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Competizione

Sold by Gooding & Co., estimated at $8 million to $10 million

A 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona Competizione up for auction at Monterey Car Week.
Mathieu Heurtault | Courtesy of Gooding & Co.

3. (tied) 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider

Sold by Gooding & Co., estimated at $8 million to $10 million

A 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider up for auction at Monterey Car Week.
Mathieu Heurtault | Courtesy of Gooding & Co.

4. 1957 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Prototipo

Sold by Gooding & Co., estimated at $7.5 million to $9 million

A 1957 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Prototipo up for auction at Monterey Car Week.
Mathieu Heurtault | Courtesy of Gooding & Co.

5. 2020 Bugatti Divo

Sold by Bonhams, estimated at $7 million to $9 million

A 2020 Bugatti Divo up for auction at Monterey Car Week.
Courtesy of Bonhams More

Film camera company Eastman Kodak is facing significant financial struggles, according to its second quarter earnings report.
The challenges come even as Gen Z is largely driving a resurgence of film cameras, leaning into the retro aesthetics.
A spokesperson for Kodak said the company has plans to repay its debts.

Rolls of Kodak Gold film hang on a shelf at the Precision Camera & Video store on August 12, 2025 in Austin, Texas.
Brandon Bell | Getty Images

Clair Sapilewski has dozens of rolls of camera film ready to use in her cupboard at all times.
A photography major at American University, the 21-year-old said she always keeps her film stocked to achieve that aesthetic that only film cameras can capture.

“It teaches you how to slow down, how to look at things more carefully and how to choose your shots more wisely,” she said.
It’s part of an ongoing trend as members of Generation Z have taken an interest in film cameras. Sapilewski said while her professors taught her the basics, she and her friends have used their film cameras to develop photos that their iPhones can’t quite replicate.
And in her college circle, the most popular brand for camera film is Eastman Kodak, a company she calls a “household name.”
“Pretty much everybody uses Kodak films — the average film user, when they reach for film, is going to reach for Kodak,” Sapilewski said.
But on the other side of the lens, Kodak may be singing a different tune.

The 133-year-old photography company indicated in its second-quarter earnings report on Monday that its finances “raise substantial doubt” in its ability to continue operations as a going concern.
The company reported a net loss of $26 million, down 200% from a net income of $26 million for the second quarter of 2024. Kodak also posted a 12% decrease in gross profit with millions in debt obligations.
“Kodak has debt coming due within 12 months and does not have committed financing or available liquidity to meet such debt obligations if they were to become due in accordance with their current terms,” the company wrote in a regulatory filing.
Shares of the company are down more than 15% year-to-date.
Kodak plans to terminate its retirement pension plan and a company spokesperson told CNBC that the company aims to use money that the company will receive from the settlement to pay off its debts.
“Kodak is confident it will be able to pay off a significant portion of its term loan well before it becomes due, and amend, extend or refinance our remaining debt and/or preferred stock obligations,” the spokesperson said.
This isn’t the first time the company has faced struggles.
Founded in Rochester, New York, in the late 1800s, Kodak rode the wave of photography with a goal of simplifying the process for consumers. But as the era of digital technology took over, the company faced increasing struggles with staying relevant as cameras moved beyond film and disposables.
In the 2000s, the company tried to keep up with the growing trend of digital cameras but struggled to keep up, according to Melius Research analyst Ben Reitzes, who said Kodak was ignoring concerns at the time about the evolving macroenvironment.
“Digital technology wasn’t ready right away to cut sales of film — but common sense told us differently,” Reitzes wrote in a March note. “At the time, Kodak management told us that film would co-exist with digital cameras and more photos would be taken — and more would need to be printed by Kodak.”
Instead, Kodak filed for bankruptcy in 2012. It reemerged a year later in 2013 with four main business components: print, advanced materials and chemicals, motion picture, and consumer, which includes cameras and accessories.

A ‘rebellion against digital perfection’

In recent years, however, the retro camera trend has been seeing a resurgence.
In 2020, then-General Manager Ed Hurley told NBC News that Kodak was making more than twice the number of film rolls in 2019 than it made in 2015.
And on last year’s third-quarter earnings call, Kodak CEO Jim Continenza said the company was experiencing such high demand for film that it needed to upgrade its Rochester factory.
“Our film sales have increased,” Continenza said at the time. “As we continue to see our commitment and our customer commitment to film, still and motion picture, we are going to continue to invest in that space and continue with that growth.”
According to Fortune Business Insights, the global cinema camera market size is fast-growing and estimated to reach $535 million by 2032. The Global Wellness Institute named “analog wellness” — including pre-digital technology — its top trend for 2025.
That growth has been driven in large part by Gen Z, which has turned to old-school aesthetics in what’s been a “divorce” from the hyperrealism of digital photography, according to Alex Cooke, the editor-in-chief of Fstoppers, a photography news site.
“I think there’s this rebellion against digital perfection where film feels real in this kind of hyper-curated Instagram and TikTok world, where images are filtered and Facetuned and algorithm-tested,” Cooke said.
For members of Gen Z, who grew up in the smartphone age, Cooke said this type of photography brings a “nostalgia without lived experience,” where younger people are romanticizing a slower culture and breaking the instant feedback loop.
The aesthetics of film are also at play, Cooke added, with the unique colors and grains capturing something a smartphone could not. Ironically, social media even feeds into amplifying the trend, he said.
Using film cameras and developing that film also plays into a Gen Z trend of digital minimalism, according to Digital Camera World U.S. Editor Hillary Grigonis.
As a professional photographer, Grigonis said she’s seen Gen Z lean into the feeling of “disconnecting” when using film, which provides a more tangible photography experience than smartphones.
“Part of the rise in film photography among Gen Z is likely from that desire to disconnect and the craving for that retro aesthetic,” she said, adding that she was surprised at Kodak’s financial struggles given the overall rise in demand.
For 25-year-old Madison Stefanis, Kodak was her entry point into the camera world. A Gen Z herself, Stefanis created 35mm Co, a film camera company specifically aimed at making the photography style easy and accessible for her generation.
Stefanis said she’s seen that younger people are leaning into the emotional connection created by the delayed gratification of waiting for photos to be developed, something that’s become “lost in the digital age.”
Because she’s seen Gen Z driving the resurgence of film, Stefanis said she was “shocked” at Kodak’s declaration of going concern.
“Gen Z are really craving something they can hold in their hands,” she said. “These days, at least for myself, most of my memories live either in my mind or in my phone, so I think having actual tangible, physical objects where we can store our keepsakes and those key moments feels really special to my generation.” More

Ignore for a moment Donald Trump’s shakedown of Nvidia, in which he has allowed the world’s most valuable firm to resume limited exports of its artificial-intelligence (AI) chips to China in return for a 15% cut of the proceeds for Uncle Sam. Think instead of the argument about whether it is wise to let China have access to one of America’s most coveted technologies. More

Ignore for a moment Donald Trump’s shakedown of Nvidia, in which he has allowed the world’s most valuable firm to resume limited exports of its artificial-intelligence (AI) chips to China in return for giving a 15% cut of the proceeds to Uncle Sam. Think instead of the argument about whether it is wise to let China have access to one of America’s most coveted technologies. More

Walmart said Wednesday it will offer a 10% employee discount on nearly all groceries.
The employee discount previously applied to fresh produce and most general merchandise, such as clothing and toys.
The company’s decision comes as tariffs drive up consumers’ worries about higher prices.

Groceries are seen at a Walmart supermarket in Houston, Texas, on May 15, 2025.
Ronaldo Schemidt | AFP | Getty Images

As tariffs spark worries of higher prices, Walmart is dangling more discounts for its own employees.
The largest private U.S. employer said Wednesday that it will offer a 10% employee discount on nearly all groceries, including milk, meat and frozen food. That discount previously applied to fresh produce and most general merchandise items, such as clothing and toys, but only to other food during the holiday season.

In a memo to employees obtained by CNBC, Walmart’s chief people officer, Donna Morris, said the expanded price cut takes effect immediately. Walmart’s approximately 1.6 million U.S. employees qualify for the discount after their first 90 days with the company. With the expansion, the reduction will now include 95% of regularly priced items across the store, she said.
“We’ve heard your feedback that these savings make a real difference for you and your families,” she wrote in the memo. “And we have continued to hear that you would like to see this benefit expanded. In fact, it’s one of our most requested benefits.”
Walmart’s announcement comes as economists and companies closely watch how rising tariffs trickle through the U.S. economy and shape consumer spending. The consumer price index, a closely watched inflation metric from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, came in better than feared on Tuesday, with food prices flat. Yet the data still pointed to higher prices on some items. For example, household furnishings and supplies rose 0.7% month over month after climbing 1% in June.
Walmart itself has warned that higher prices are coming. In May, the company’s CFO, John David Rainey, told CNBC that the discounter was “wired for everyday low prices, but the magnitude of these increases is more than any retailer can absorb.”
The expanded employee discount could boost Walmart’s own business, too. It could motivate its huge workforce to spend more of their money at its stores and website rather than at other grocers or retailers. And the perk could also help attract and retain workers.

Walmart announced the expanded discount at its holiday meeting in Houston, which all store managers attended.
According to a video obtained by CNBC, Walmart U.S. CEO John Furner brought a Walmart store manager to the stage to read the surprise announcement that its 10% discount on food would become year-round.
“All I can think is about my associates back at home,” the store manager told Furner, as he thanked him. He said employees at his store “don’t know how they’re going to be paying their next meal and now this is going to help them.”
Walmart is scheduled to report its latest earnings on Aug. 21. The retailer’s expanded discount was first reported by The Wall Street Journal. More

After bucking industry trends, fast-casual chains like Chipotle and Cava are finally feeling the consumer slowdown.
Restaurant executives have said that diners are “cautious” or dealing with an economic “fog.”
Like diners, investors are also pulling back from fast-casual eateries.

A customer carries a Cava bag in the Brooklyn borough of New York, US, on Monday, May 6, 2024.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Cava stock tumbled 16% in afternoon trading on Wednesday, making it the latest fast-casual chain to feel Wall Street’s wrath after reporting disappointing quarterly sales.
A year ago, eateries like Chipotle Mexican Grill and Cava were reporting double-digit same-store sales growth, even as the broader restaurant industry posted falling traffic and slumping sales. But times have changed. This spring, fast-casual chains saw foot traffic decline as sales slowed down or even shrank.

To explain the downturn, executives have said that diners are “cautious,” in the words of Sweetgreen CEO Jonathan Neman, or dealing with an economic “fog,” according to Cava CFO Tricia Tolivar.
And just as diners are finding reasons why to cut back on their Shake Shack burgers or Chipotle bowls, investors are trimming their fast-casual holdings after rewarding the companies last year for outperforming the rest of the industry. So far in 2025, Shake Shack shares have fallen 16%; Chipotle stock has slid 28%; Cava shares have tumbled 37%; and Sweetgreen stock has plunged 70%. Of the notable publicly traded fast-casual chains, only Wingstop has managed to stay in the green this year, with gains of 20%.
More broadly, investors have grown more cautious about betting on any restaurants, given weak traffic trends and concerns about consumer spending, according to a research note on Sunday from UBS. Even fast-food companies have struggled with the traffic declines and sluggish sales growth, despite their historical reputation as a safer bet during economic uncertainty.
While some fast-casual chains flagged company-specific reasons for their weaker-than-expected results, executives also said that economic uncertainty is weighing on consumers – and hurting their sales.
Generally, fast-casual diners are higher income and more likely to have white-collar jobs. However, Chipotle CEO Scott Boatwright blamed a pullback from low-income consumers for the chain’s same-store sales declines of 4% in the second quarter.

“You have to look no further than what’s going with our competitors with snack occasions or $5 meals. That’s where the consumer is drifting towards, [with] value as a price point, because of low consumer sentiment. I think as sentiment improves, the business will improve. I think that’s probably the biggest headwind we face,” he told analysts on the company’s earnings conference call on June 23.
The University of Michigan’s index of consumer sentiment slid in April to 52.2, one of its lowest-ever recorded readings. It held at that level in May before rising in June to 60.7.
Fast-casual chains are seeing consumers’ economic anxieties in their own research, too.
“Through our regular consumer research, we hear concerns about elevated prices, future job prospects and general anxiety about the future,” Wingstop CEO Michael Skipworth said on the company’s earnings conference call in late July.
The chicken wing chain reported same-store sales declines of 1.9% for the quarter, a dramatic reversal compared to its growth of 28.7% in the year-ago period.
On the company’s earnings conference call on Thursday, Sweetgreen’s Neman said that the chain saw “a more cautious consumer environment starting in April” — coinciding with the drop in consumer sentiment. A “subdued industry backdrop,” particularly in several of the chain’s biggest urban markets, contributed to Sweetgreen’s “really, really rough quarter,” according to Neman.
That’s one reason why the salad chain reported a steeper-than-expected decline in its same-store sales and cut its full-year forecast for the second straight quarter. Sweetgreen executives also attributed the weak quarterly performance to a tough comparison to last year’s steak launch and the transition of its loyalty program.
To improve its value perception among customers, Sweetgreen is increasing its chicken and tofu portions by 25%, improving its chicken and salmon recipes and implementing some promotional pricing, like $13 menu bowl drops for its loyalty program members.
As for Cava, the company had been wowing investors with impressive same-store sales growth since its initial public offering two years ago. But this quarter, the Mediterranean chain reported same-store sales growth of 2.1%, well below Wall Street projections of 6.1%. Executives said that it faced difficult comparisons to the year-ago period’s same-store sales growth of 14.4%, which was fueled by its own steak launch and strong demand at newer restaurant locations that waned this year.
“Cava isn’t so special after all. After blowing out same store sales in Q1 of 10.8%, it fell in line with the industry at 2.1% in Q2. It’s not negative, so that’s helpful,” Tracey Ryniec, stock strategist at Zacks Investment Research, said.
Cava executives also acknowledged that economic concerns are weighing on diners.
“Certainly, we’re operating in a fluid macroeconomic environment and it’s one that sort of creates a fog for consumers where things are changing constantly and it’s hard to see the clear. And during those times, they tend to step off of the gas,” Tolivar said on the company’s conference call on Tuesday evening.
Still, Cava isn’t seeing consumers trade down to cheaper protein options, or experiencing any other deeper business concerns, co-founder and CEO Brett Schulman said. And as it enters the third quarter, its same-store sales have improved, Tolivar said.
And Cava isn’t the only fast-casual eatery anticipating a return to form in the latter half of the year, especially as consumer sentiment improved in June and July.
Chipotle said its traffic started growing again as the burrito chain exited the quarter and continued into July. Sweetgreen has seen “modest” improvement in its same-store sales so far into the third quarter, according to Neman.
And while Wingstop executives said that they’re still seeing weaker consumer demand, the chain is facing easier comparisons to last year’s performance. More

Cava’s quarterly revenue missed estimates due to weaker-than-expected same-store sales growth.
The Mediterranean restaurant chain lowered its full-year forecast for same-store sales.
Cava also announced an investment in Hyphen, a restaurant automation startup.

Customers arrive at a Cava restaurant in New York City on June 22, 2023.
Brendan Mcdermid | Reuters

Cava on Tuesday lowered its full-year forecast for same-store sales growth after a disappointing second quarter.
For the full year, Cava now anticipates same-store sales growth of 4% to 6%, down from its prior range of 6% to 8%.

Shares of the company plunged more than 20% in extended trading. The stock has fallen 40% this year, including the after-hours move.
Here’s what the company reported compared with what Wall Street was expecting, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Earnings per share: 16 cents vs. 13 cents expected
Revenue: $280.6 million vs. $285.6 million expected

The restaurant company reported second-quarter net income of $18.4 million, or 16 cents per share, down from $19.7 million, or 17 cents per share, a year earlier.
Net restaurant sales climbed 20% to $278.2 million, largely thanks to new restaurant openings.
The chain’s same-store sales, a metric that only tracks the performance of restaurants that have been open at least a year, rose 2.1% during the quarter. While Cava managed to buck the industry trend of same-store sales declines, Wall Street was projecting growth of 6.1%, according to StreetAccount estimates.

Cava said its quarterly traffic was “roughly flat.” A year earlier, the company’s same-store sales climbed 14.4%, fueled by nearly double-digit traffic growth. At the time, Cava CEO and co-founder Brett Schulman credited the introduction of its grilled steak option as one reason customers kept coming to restaurants during the quarter.
CFO Tricia Tolivar told CNBC on Tuesday that the second quarter started off with strong same-store sales growth, which led the company to reiterate its prior outlook when it reported its first-quarter results. However, she said, once the chain celebrated the one-year launch of grilled steak, it saw that growth slow.
Rival fast-casual chains have also struggled this quarter with slumping sales. Chipotle Mexican Grill reported same-store sales declines of 4%, while salad chain Sweetgreen saw its stock plummet after the company cut its outlook for the second straight quarter.
Aside from lowering its same-store sales forecast, Cava reiterated other key financial projections for the full year. The company still anticipates adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $152 million to $159 million. Cava also maintained its forecast for restaurant-level profit margins of 24.8% to 25.2%.
Cava on Tuesday also announced that it participated in a $25 million Series B funding round for Hyphen, which automates plate and bowl portioning. Chipotle Mexican Grill, which has already invested in Hyphen, led the funding round with Cava.
“By piloting Hyphen’s automated digital makeline, we have the opportunity to increase order accuracy and speed during peak digital hours, while reducing complexity for our team members,” Schulman said in a statement. More

The Food and Drug Administration is considering revoking its authorization of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for healthy children under the age of 5, the drugmaker confirmed to CNBC.
The move could leave many kids with no available shots against the virus, though Moderna’s shot will be an option for those at increased risk of severe illness due to at least one underlying condition.
It would add to a string of recent efforts by U.S. health agencies to change and undermine immunization policy since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic, took the helm.

A nurse prepares doses of the Pfizer vaccine during a COVID-19 vaccination event at Josephine’s Southern Cooking in Chatham, Illinois, Dec. 30, 2021.
Brian Cassella | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

The Food and Drug Administration is considering revoking its authorization of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for healthy children under the age of 5, the drugmaker confirmed to CNBC on Tuesday. 
The move could leave many kids with no available shot against the virus, as jabs from Moderna and Novavax are cleared for more limited populations. While Covid typically causes mild symptoms in most children, others, such as infants under 1 or those with certain health conditions, can be at a higher risk of severe illness and hospitalization.

If the FDA pulls the authorization, it would add to a string of recent efforts by U.S. health agencies to change and undermine immunization policy since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic, took the helm. HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The FDA told Pfizer it might not renew its longstanding emergency use authorization for children ages 6 months to 4 years, the company said in a statement. Pfizer said it has requested the authorization to remain in place for the upcoming fall and winter season and is “currently in discussions with the agency on potential paths forward.”
The company said that the FDA’s “deliberations” are not related to the safety and efficacy of the shot, “which continues to demonstrate a favorable profile.”
The Guardian first reported on the FDA’s potential move. Moderna is working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to boost supplies of its own Covid shot for children, the Guardian reported Saturday.
In July, the FDA granted full approval to Moderna’s Covid vaccine for children — but only for those with one more more health conditions that may put them at increased risk of severe illness if they become infected. The shots from both Moderna and Pfizer use messenger RNA technology.

Kennedy has targeted those vaccines in the past, filing a petition in May 2021 demanding that the agency revoke authorization of the jabs.  
Meanwhile, Novavax’s protein-based shot has never been available for children under 12. 
In May, Kennedy announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has removed its recommendation of Covid vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women. 
But in updated guidance days later, the CDC said the shots “may” be given to those kids if a doctor agreed that it was necessary. Covid vaccines during pregnancy are now listed as “No Guidance/Not Applicable,” where they were previously recommended for all pregnant adults. More