US doctor groups issue their own flu, Covid and RSV shot advice for the winter

Five large American medical societies published their own autumn immunisation advice on 2 September, rather than wait for a settled Centers for Disease Control and Prevention campaign. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Infectious Diseases Society of America each posted guidance for their patients. The American Medical Association is collecting the texts, plus the evidence tables, at SpreadTheFacts.org.

The groups worked with the Vaccine Integrity Project at the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. That project reviewed hundreds of studies from the past year. Michael Osterholm, who directs both the project and CIDRAP, said immunisation remains one of the best tools against severe illness from respiratory viruses.

Why the societies stepped in

In June 2025 Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and named a new slate. A court challenge has left that committee, and the recommendations it later issued, in legal limbo. On 1 September the CDC website said last July's flu recommendations would remain in force for the 2026-27 season. The agency did not answer questions this week about a fresh autumn package covering Covid-19 and RSV as well.

Dr Sandra Fryhofer of the AMA described the public conversation as confused. The societies' stated aim is a single place where a clinician or a parent can read the same numbers the specialty houses used.

What the numbers say

The Minnesota review put influenza vaccination at 19 to 43 percent protection against flu-related hospitalisation in older adults, and 29 to 66 percent against flu-related death in that group. RSV vaccination was 83 percent effective against hospitalisation in older adults. When the RSV shot was given in pregnancy, infant hospitalisations fell by 51 to 70 percent. For Covid-19, the consortium's review found a 53 percent cut in hospitalisation risk for adults over 65 and a 58 percent cut for pregnant women. Infants of vaccinated mothers had fewer Covid-related hospital visits than infants of unvaccinated mothers.

AAFP's published list is specific. Every adult 19 and older should receive a Covid-19 vaccine, with extra weight on people 65 and older, people at higher risk, and anyone who has never had a dose. Adults 65 and older should get a second updated Covid-19 dose six months after the first. Children aged 6 to 23 months should be vaccinated against Covid-19. For ages 2 to 18 the academy uses a risk-based single-dose approach while still supporting access for any family that wants the shot.

Flu advice is broader. Annual influenza vaccination is recommended for everyone six months and older without a medical reason to skip it. Adults 65 and older should preferentially receive an enhanced flu vaccine (high dose, adjuvanted, recombinant or mRNA) when one is on the shelf, but should not delay a standard dose to wait for one.

Where this leaves patients

President Donald Trump has not told people to skip these vaccines. He has framed the choice as a conversation with a doctor, especially for children. Kennedy has questioned the total number of shots on the childhood schedule. The specialty houses have now written a parallel schedule that looks like the pre-2025 CDC list.

Insurers, pharmacies and state health departments still take their cue from federal language when they decide what to stock and what to pay for. A society website does not bind those systems. It does give a paediatrician or an obstetrician a written standard to cite when a patient asks what to do this October.