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February 10, 2026<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Top medical groups join forces to review vaccine science as CDC faces criticism<\/p>\n The American Medical Association is launching an effort to evaluate vaccine safety and effectiveness independently of U.S. government health agencies<\/p>\n By Claire Cameron edited by Clara Moskowitz<\/span><\/p>\n Jackyenjoyphotography\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The U.S.\u2019s largest organization of physicians is joining forces with a vaccine research group to independently review vaccine science, effectively paralleling one of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s key public health roles.<\/p>\n Officials at the American Medical Association (AMA) and the Vaccine Integrity Project, run by the University of Minnesota, said the effort is designed \u201cto ensure a deliberative, evidence-driven approach to produce the data necessary to understand the risks and benefits of vaccine policy decisions for all populations,\u201d according to a joint statement issued on Tuesday.<\/p>\n The groups will not make vaccine recommendations in the same way that the CDC now does and will aim to provide doctors and families with science-backed guidance. Since the Trump administration returned to the White House last year, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic, has overseen a broad rollback of the country\u2019s recommended childhood vaccines. In December 2025 the CDC cut the number of routine recommended vaccines for kids to protect against 11 diseases instead of 17\u2014a move experts decried as undermining public health and endangering children.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n 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 in the panel. Last December the panel voted to stop recommending that the hepatitis B vaccine be given to all newborns. The CDC then sidelined the group, sympathetic as it was, in making the decision to reduce the vaccine schedule to protect against 11 illnesses instead of 17.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" February 10, 2026 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Top medical groups join forces to review vaccine science as CDC faces criticism The American Medical Association is launching an effort to evaluate vaccine safety and effectiveness independently of U.S. government health agencies By Claire Cameron edited by Clara Moskowitz Jackyenjoyphotography\/Getty Images The U.S.\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[2132,6948,2395,4441,1860,3295,3140,1085,516,1168,2133],"class_list":{"0":"post-44191","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-cdc","9":"tag-criticism","10":"tag-faces","11":"tag-forces","12":"tag-groups","13":"tag-join","14":"tag-medical","15":"tag-review","16":"tag-science","17":"tag-top","18":"tag-vaccine"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44191","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=44191"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44191\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/44192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=44191"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=44191"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=44191"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s Time to Stand Up for Science<\/h2>\n