National Medical Specialty Societies Offer Vaccine Guidance
September 3, 2026
On September 2, the Vaccine Integrity Project (VIP) at the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America issued guidelines recommending Americans continue to get immunized for influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
The recommendations are an effort to combat the confusion caused by the Trump Administration. President Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have disrupted the approval process for seasonal vaccines, and have made claims that children receive too many vaccinations, some leading to autism.
Last June, Kennedy removed all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and replaced them with his own members.
The new ACIP members then informed the AMA, along with several other physician advocacy groups, that their physician experts would no longer be included in the process of reviewing scientific evidence and informing vaccine recommendations, as has long been the case.
Earlier this year, the VIP, in collaboration with the AMA, announced the start of a structured, evidence-based review process to assess vaccine safety and effectiveness for the 2026–27 respiratory virus season. This resulted in the recommendations announced on September 2.
“We cannot allow the breakdown of a federal process to create a vacuum in evidence-based vaccine guidance,” Bruce Gellin, MD, MPH, chair of the VIP Board of Advisors, said during a September 2 press briefing.
“Americans are hearing conflicting messages about vaccines right now, and it’s understandable that people are asking whom they should trust,” he added. “I would encourage them to look at the process behind the development of these recommendations.”
For more background on the recommended guidelines, click here.
