Top medical groups unite to review vaccine science as CDC faces criticism
The American Medical Association is launching an effort to evaluate vaccine safety and effectiveness independently of US government health agencies
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The largest organization of physicians in America is joining forces With a vaccine research group to independently review vaccine science, effectively akin to one of the key public health roles of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Officials with the Vaccine Integrity Project, run by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the University of Minnesota, said the effort is designed to “ensure a thoughtful, evidence-driven approach to producing the data needed to understand the risks and benefits of vaccine policy decisions for all populations,” according to a joint statement released Tuesday.
The groups will not make vaccine recommendations the way the CDC does now and will aim to provide science-backed guidance to doctors and families. Since the Trump administration returned to the White House last year, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic, has overseen a widespread rollout of recommended childhood vaccines in the country. In December 2025, the CDC cut the number of routinely recommended vaccines to protect children against 11 diseases from 17 — a move experts said undermined public health and put children at risk.
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The CDC has traditionally relied on an independent panel of experts, called the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), to help inform its vaccine recommendations. In June 2025, Kennedy overhauled ACIP and installed known vaccine critics on the panel. Last December the panel voted to stop recommending hepatitis B vaccination for all newborns. The CDC then sympathetically sidelined the group, deciding to reduce the vaccination program to protect against 11 diseases instead of 17.
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