Sunita Somvanshi
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This fall, the country’s leading medical organizations decided they couldn’t wait for the federal government to tell the public which vaccines to get. So they wrote their own guidance.
The effort was coordinated through something called the Vaccine Integrity Project, bringing together four major medical groups: the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). Their stated reason for acting together was to “ease confusion caused by the changing advice coming from federal health authorities.”
What did the CDC actually do? It published interim clinical considerations for the 2026–2027 respiratory season while carrying forward its July 2025 influenza schedule, stating that those recommendations “remain in effect for the 2026–2027 influenza season.” The agency did not issue a broad updated fall vaccination campaign.
The most significant gap between federal and specialist guidance involves COVID-19 vaccination for young children. Several specialty groups through the Vaccine Integrity Project recommend the COVID vaccine outright for children between 6 and 23 months old. The CDC’s current guidance for parents of children under 18 simply says to “consult their doctor” — no direct recommendation. For older children aged 2 through 18, the specialty groups recommend vaccination only for those at high risk of severe COVID illness.
On influenza, there’s agreement. Both the American Medical Association and the specialty groups recommend annual flu vaccination for everyone 6 months of age and older. For adults 65 and older, high-dose or adjuvanted flu preparations are prioritized.
For RSV — respiratory syncytial virus, a common respiratory illness that can be severe in infants and older adults — current clinical guidance reflects an updated vaccination window. Current AAFP recommendations advise pregnant women to receive the RSV vaccine during September through March — an extended window compared to the previous September-to-January guidance. Vaccination is recommended for newborns, for pregnant women at 32 to 36 weeks of pregnancy, and for all adults 75 and older. Adults between 50 and 74 with elevated health risks are also recommended to get vaccinated, as are immunocompromised adolescents and adults per IDSA alignment.
The AAP published its own 2026–2027 policy statements separately: the influenza guidance came out August 10, and the COVID-19 and RSV guidance followed on September 2.
The Vaccine Integrity Project made clear its guidance was issued specifically to counter mixed signals from federal public health policy under the current administration. That context is worth knowing when thinking about why America’s top medical associations took the unusual step of publishing joint independent guidance to fill the gap.
If you’re unsure what to get this fall, that’s the exact confusion these groups were trying to address. Flu shots, COVID boosters, and RSV vaccines are available at most pharmacies. Your doctor or pharmacist can help confirm what’s right based on your age and health status.
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