US doctors release flu, COVID-19, RSV vaccine advice

A coalition of US medical organisations has issued its own guidance on influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus vaccines, stepping in while federal recommendations remain delayed.

The coalition includes the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Its advice varies according to age and other factors, including pregnancy. The US government has issued guidance only for flu vaccination, extending recommendations from 2025.

The groups said recent scientific studies had identified no new health concerns related to the three vaccines. They cited an independent review by the University of Minnesota’s Vaccine Integrity Project. AMA president-elect Sandra Fryhofer said patients deserved recommendations that were clear, credible and based on the best available scientific evidence.

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention normally updates vaccine recommendations each year, but this year’s process has been disrupted by lawsuits over changes introduced under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Medical associations have opposed several federal steps, saying they conflict with scientific consensus.

Vaccination rates in the United States have declined since the COVID-19 pandemic and a subsequent wave of misinformation. Kennedy has pursued broad changes to vaccine policy, including ending the recommendation that all newborns receive hepatitis B vaccination and altering guidance on COVID-19 and measles vaccines. A federal judge suspended many of those measures in March, ruling that the government had disregarded science-based methods. The ruling has complicated the work of the expert panel advising the CDC.

“

Patients need and deserve vaccine recommendations that are clear, credible, and based on the best available scientific evidence, so they can make informed vaccine decisions for themselves and for their families.