<p>Several major medical organizations are recommending that individuals protect themselves against influenza, COVID-19, and RSV this fall with updated vaccines, despite the absence of guidance from the Trump administration health agencies.</p>
<p>The recommendations from doctors’ groups, coordinated through the Vaccine Integrity Project led by the American Medical Association, come as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not issued any statements regarding vaccines for the 2026-27 respiratory virus season.</p>
<p>The CDC’s immunization recommendations have been effectively paused since March, following a federal district court ruling in Massachusetts that invalidated Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to replace members of the agency’s vaccine advisory panel with those who are more skeptical of the current vaccine policy.</p>
<p>Since the court order, there have been no meetings of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to make recommendations for the upcoming respiratory virus season, prompting medical societies to address the gap.</p>
<p>Dr. Bruce Gellin, board chair of the Vaccine Integrity Project, stated that “the federal government is not fulfilling that responsibility” regarding vaccine evaluation. He emphasized that the need for vaccination remains, as influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and RSV will circulate again this fall and winter.</p>
<p>According to CDC data from the last respiratory virus season, there were an estimated 390,000 influenza-related hospitalizations and 24,000 deaths. RSV resulted in at least 3 million outpatient visits, 170,000 hospitalizations, and as many as 25,000 deaths.</p>
<p>Although COVID-19 has become less severe, estimates for hospitalizations last year ranged between 140,000 and 240,000, with death estimates between 15,000 and 42,000.</p>
<p>Dr. Gellin stated, “We cannot allow the breakdown of the federal process to create a vacuum in evidence-based vaccine guidance.”</p>
<p>In addition to the AMA, organizations involved in this initiative include the American Academy of Family Medicine, the Infectious Disease Society of America, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.</p>
<p>The groups collectively recommend that all adults over 19 receive the updated COVID-19 vaccine and that all individuals over 6 months of age receive the influenza vaccine. The CDC did not recommend the COVID-19 vaccine for all adults last year.</p>
<p>The new medical guidance also strongly advises COVID-19 vaccines for those at higher risk of severe disease, including seniors over age 65, pregnant women, and infants between 6 and 23 months.</p>
<p>For RSV, the organizations recommend that all adults aged 75 or older and those aged 50 to 74 at increased risk receive a one-time vaccine. Pregnant women are advised to get the RSV vaccine in September 2026 and March 2027 between 32 and 36 weeks of gestation.</p>
<p>Dr. Sandra Fryhofer, AMA president-elect, noted that the effort was organized due to “a lot of confusion and chaos regarding vaccine recommendations.”</p>
<p>In addition to the lack of guidance from the CDC about the upcoming respiratory virus season, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in August aimed at circumventing the court’s ruling that blocked ACIP’s recommendation to reduce the childhood vaccine schedule from 18 diseases to 11.</p>
<p>Critics of the executive order and the Trump administration’s vaccine policy argue that it has created uncertainty among parents regarding which vaccines are essential for their children.</p>
<p>Dr. Fryhofer emphasized the need for evidence-based vaccine guidance that physicians can trust, stating, “Patients need and deserve vaccine recommendations that are clear, credible, and based on the best available scientific evidence.”</p>
<p>The medical associations published their safety and efficacy review findings for the vaccines in the Journal of the American Medical Association, indicating that all three immunizations lower the risk of hospitalization and severe disease.</p>
<p>Dr. Ronald Nahass, president of the Infectious Disease Society of America, mentioned that the groups are “speaking with one voice relative to the vaccinations” to address the challenges of trust and clarity.</p>
<p>Public opinion polling indicates that Americans are confident in the safety of vaccines with established track records, such as those for measles, mumps, rubella, and polio. However, skepticism remains regarding flu and COVID vaccines.</p>
<p>A February poll by the health policy group KFF found that 83% of Americans were at least somewhat confident in the safety of the polio and MMR vaccines for children, while less than half expressed similar confidence in COVID-19 vaccines for children, and only 65% were at least somewhat confident about the flu vaccine.</p>
<p>Dr. Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, noted that pediatricians and adult medicine physicians are well-equipped to address patients’ questions and build trust through ongoing relationships.</p>