Leading U.S. medical organizations banded together Wednesday to issue new flu and COVID-19 vaccination guidelines for the fall, an effort doctors say is aimed at cutting through confusion caused by shifting federal vaccine policy under the Trump administration.

Flu vaccinations are already underway across the country, and COVID-19 shots are beginning to arrive at pharmacies and clinics after the Food and Drug Administration approved updated versions of both vaccines last week. Winter also brings the added risk of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, rounding out three major vaccine-preventable illnesses that health officials typically address heading into the colder months.

Guidance on who should receive which vaccines and when has traditionally come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, working with its independent panel of vaccine advisers. But despite no new scientific evidence emerging to justify a shift, Trump administration health officials began pulling back last year on several longstanding vaccine recommendations covering fall virus protection and routine childhood immunizations. The CDC's advisory panel, which shapes vaccine policy at the state level and influences insurance coverage decisions, remains entangled in an ongoing court battle. The CDC did not respond to questions about new fall guidance, though its website has suggested doctors continue following last year's flu recommendations.

Into that vacuum have stepped four of the nation's leading medical societies: 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 organization released its own vaccination guidelines this week tailored to the patient populations it represents.

Dr. Sandra Fryhofer of the American Medical Association said the coordinated effort reflects growing frustration among physicians over the shifting federal messaging.

"There's been a lot of confusion and chaos regarding vaccine recommendations," Fryhofer said.

Fryhofer said the groups........

© International Business Times