Top US Medical Groups Say The CDC Can’t Be Trusted On Winter Vaccines – So They’re Bringing The Science Instead

This changing landscape can be hard to keep track of – not even counting all of the initialisms we just threw at you – so let’s break down what’s changed, and what medical experts are saying as people across the country begin to make decisions about vaccines this season.

How we got here

The AMA, established in 1847, is the foremost medical body in the United States, bringing together over 200 medical societies from across the country.

On most big public health issues, the AMA has historically been in lockstep with the health agencies in the federal government: the CDC, which we’ve already mentioned, but also the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

For example, if you had sought the latest medical advice around COVID-19 in 2020, you’d likely have found all of these bodies giving very similar recommendations.

Today, that’s no longer the case.

On vaccines specifically, the AMA and others have raised concerns around the staffing of the ACIP under the Trump administration and the tenure of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary.

“For decades, ACIP’s collaborative, transparent, and evidence-based process was trusted by clinicians and helped protect the nation from vaccine-preventable diseases,” reads a recent Perspective article in JAMA.

“ACIP was considered by many to be the zenith of the public health and vaccine infrastructure in the US.”

In 2025, Kennedy’s HHS department dismissed all 17 members of the ACIP and replaced them with eight new members, among whom were noted vaccine skeptics and medical conspiracy theorists.

When the new panel met mid-year to discuss flu vaccines for the 2025 season, they did recommend them, but with a catch: the vaccines must not contain the preservative thimerosal.

This ingredient has long been a bogeyman to antivax campaigners, despite the lack of any strong scientific evidence that it does harm. The compound is a form of ethyl mercury, and some fear it can cause the same neurological damage as methyl mercury. This is not the case, and methyl mercury has never been included in vaccines.

Nevertheless, vaccine manufacturers agreed to limit its use in vaccines in the late 90s, so it is rarely found in formulations today. It was present in some flu vaccines, hence the ACIP having it on their agenda, but it’s no longer included in any vaccines given to children in the US.

But just to reiterate, this was all precautionary – there’s still no evidence thimerosal ever did anyone any harm.

Starting how they mean to go on

That was the first big outing of the newly staffed ACIP. Later, in September 2025, the ACIP convened again for a two-day meeting that was described by one expert at the time as “frankly extraordinary – and not in a good way.”

Among the outcomes of that meeting were a recommendation that kids under 4 should get separate MMR and varicella (chickenpox) vaccines, and that COVID-19 vaccines should no longer be recommended for all Americans aged 6 months and up.

There was also due to be a vote on hepatitis B vaccines, but that can was kicked down the road until December 2025. You may be sensing a theme here… the ACIP voted to delay that vaccine – which used to be recommended at birth – for most kids, leaving the timing up to parental choice.

This decision, it was later estimated, could cost the US economy up to $370 million and result in preventable deaths.

Hot on the heels of this ruling came a huge revamp of the childhood immunization schedule proposed by Kennedy, blocked by a federal judge after a legal challenge from major health bodies, and recently revived in an executive order from the White House.

The headline: this would reduce the number of diseases children are routinely vaccinated against from 18 to 11.

Amid all of this saga, the AMA contends, it’s become more difficult for US citizens to access clear, evidence-based information to allow them to make informed decisions on vaccines for themselves and their families.

Not only that, but federal agencies and their spokespeople have actively promoted misinformation on vaccines.

The CDC’s website turned against the scientific consensus that vaccines do not cause autism, Kennedy incorrectly claimed that MMR vaccines contain “aborted fetal debris”, millions of dollars of mRNA vaccine funding were pulled over false claims that they’re ineffective, and the acting director of the CDC suggested last year that the MMR shot should be split up into three separate vaccines, despite the sound scientific reasoning for not doing that.

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Enter: the Vaccine Integrity Project

This is where the VIP has entered the picture.

Formed in April 2025 under the auspices of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), the VIP included in its list of possible activities “reviewing government decisions and messaging to provide clear, evidence-based information, where needed.”

Teaming up with the AMA, they’re doing just that this respiratory virus season.

In a series of three papers just published in JAMA, AMA and VIP experts review the latest evidence for the effectiveness and safety of three vaccines: COVID-19, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

For each vaccine, a team of scientists searched through the latest published data from the beginning of August 2025 to the end of June 2026.

Here’s a summary of each of the findings.

COVID-19

A total of 155 studies were included in the analysis. The evidence suggested that COVID vaccines are associated with a lower risk of hospitalization among adults of all ages. Pregnant people who got the vaccine were less likely to need emergency medical care for COVID, and their babies had fewer COVID-related hospitalizations.

Vaccination in children (9 months to 4 years old) was linked to a significant drop in COVID-related emergency department visits. High-risk adults who got the vaccine were less likely to become critically ill with COVID, and healthcare workers were less likely to get COVID in the first place or develop long COVID.

“COVID-19 vaccines were consistently associated with a reduction in the risk of hospitalization and other outcomes, including among individuals at high risk of severe COVID-19, such as infants, and those who were pregnant. No new safety concerns were identified,” the paper concluded.

Flu

Sixty-nine studies were included covering multiple flu seasons. In older adults, flu vaccines were consistently associated with a lower risk of hospitalization and death. In those aged 6 months to 17 years, one analysis covering eight seasons found that the vaccines were 80 percent effective against flu-associated deaths.

Vaccination during pregnancy protected babies from developing symptomatic flu 44.4 percent of the time.

In older adults, evidence suggests that the higher-dose vaccines that are now available for this age group are more effective than standard vaccines. There was no increased risk of serious side effects when flu vaccines were administered together with COVID or RSV shots.

The review, the paper concludes, “continued to demonstrate that influenza vaccines were associated with reduced risk of severe disease and hospitalization, especially among older adults, infants, children, and young adults. No new safety concerns were identified.”

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)

RSV vaccines are a newer addition to the regimen. This virus is a particular risk in newborns and young infants, being the number one cause of hospitalizations in this age group.

Since the introduction of maternal vaccines and long-acting monoclonal antibody preventatives for babies, data suggested that there had been a significant drop in RSV-related hospitalizations.

The team found 75 studies looking at RSV vaccine effectiveness in older adults and babies.

In both groups, the vaccines (of whichever type) were found to be effective at limiting severe disease and hospitalization, but it was noted that older adults may see some waning of the protection in subsequent seasons.

There was no evidence found between maternal vaccine and pregnancy complications like preterm birth.

“The results of this updated review are both consistent with previously reported evidence and provide new insight into several aspects of RSV immunizations,” concluded the analysis.

Evidence-based guidance

In the accompanying Perspective, representatives of the AMA and VIP highlight the transparency of the methods used in each of the reviews and the attention paid to at-risk populations for each disease.

“The review also considered the impact of evolving viral epidemiology, vaccine product updates, and emerging evidence regarding duration of protection and booster strategies,” they write.

As well as the papers, anyone interested in these findings can consult the VIP’s interactive database to learn more and visit the AMA’s landing page for a clear summary of the recommendations for each group.

Different health bodies have also published vaccine guidance targeted at specific populations: the American Academy of Pediatrics for children; the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for advice during pregnancy; the Infectious Diseases Society of America for immunocompromised people; and the American Academy of Family Physicians for children and health workers.

“The American public deserves clear, credible information – based on the best available scientific evidence – when making decisions about vaccination,” said AMA President-elect Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD, in a statement.

“We will continue to work together to make sure the public has evidence-based vaccine guidance to help them make informed decision.”

The studies on COVID-19, flu, and RSV are published in JAMA.