Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s decision to fire the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisory board last year has left Americans hanging in regard to vaccine recommendations heading into the fall and winter, when the spread of respiratory viruses spike.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The advisory board makes recommendations on influenza, COVID-19 and RSV vaccines, and the CDC uses this information to guide the American public. But a federal judge has ruled that Kennedy acted unlawfully<\/a> by replacing the 17-member committee with his own picks, some of whom have been critical of vaccines, including COVID shots.<\/p>\n MORE:\u00a0<\/b>CDC leaves Pennsylvania deaths off national measles tally after vaccine spat between RFK Jr., Gov. Shapiro<\/a><\/p>\n As a result of this tumult, a group of\u00a0medical organizations has released recommendations to help Americans make informed vaccine decisions for the upcoming respiratory season. The guidance stems from a\u00a0review <\/a>of the most recent evidence about flu, COVID and RSV vaccines. It was\u00a0conducted by the Vaccine Integrity Project, based at the University of Minnesota, in conjunction with the American Medical Association.\u00a0<\/p>\n The vaccine recommendations based on that review were released Wednesday by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America.\u00a0The Vaccine Integrity Project also has an interactive tool<\/a> on its website to help healthcare providers, scientists and the general public find studies that were reviewed.<\/p>\n \n“This year’s review confirms that the newest evidence remains consistent with research showing these immunizations reduce the risk of hospitalization and death among the people most likely to experience serious disease,” Michael Osterholm, executive director of the Vaccine Integrity Project, said in a news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last fall and winter, there were 390,000 hospitalizations and 24,000 deaths related to the flu,\u00a0CDC data<\/a>\u00a0shows.\u00a0COVID-19 caused<\/a>\u00a0140,000 to 240,000 hospitalizations and 15,000 to 42,000 deaths. And respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, caused<\/a> 170,000 to 340,000 hospitalizations and 25,000 deaths.<\/p>\n