AMA, AAP, IDSA Among Organizations Disinvited From CDC Vaccine Workgroups

FRIDAY, Aug. 8, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health officials have informed more than half a dozen leading medical organizations that they will no longer be invited to participate in developing vaccination recommendations.Last Thursday, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and other medical organizations were notified via email that their experts are being removed from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) workgroups, the Associated Press reported.One email said the organizations are "special interest groups and therefore are expected to have a 'bias' based on their constituency and/or population that they represent."The move is the latest in an ongoing dispute involving ACIP. Since 1964, ACIP has guided how U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved vaccines should be used, with CDC directors typically endorsing its recommendations. These decisions shape medical practice and enable insurance coverage for vaccines.U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. abruptly dismissed the entire ACIP in June, alleging it was too aligned with manufacturers. He then replaced its members with a group that included several vaccine skeptics.William Schaffner, M.D., a Vanderbilt University vaccine expert who for decades has been involved with ACIP and its workgroups, told the AP that input from professional groups ensured ACIP recommendations were practical for doctors and bolstered public trust by securing support from respected medical organizations. Workgroup members were vetted for conflicts of interest to prevent financial or other ties to the vaccines under review.Additional organizations disinvited from the groups include the American College of Physicians, American Geriatrics Society, American Osteopathic Association, National Medical Association, and National Foundation for Infectious Diseases."To remove our deep medical expertise from this vital and once transparent process is irresponsible, dangerous to our nation's health, and will further undermine public and clinician trust in vaccines," the AMA and several of the other organizations said in a joint statement. "We strongly urge the administration to reconsider excluding our organizations from participating in the ACIP vaccine review process."Associated Press Article.Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

AMA, AAP, IDSA Among Organizations Disinvited From CDC Vaccine Workgroups

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