Prevention & Wellness An open letter to the American public on respiratory virus vaccines Jun 25, 2025 | 3 Min Read Member Benefits Copy Print Share Share via Email Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Bluesky Share to LinkedIn Share to Doximity An open letter to the American people:With the severe influenza season the U.S. experienced during the 2024-25 respiratory virus season, and the recognition that we will likely see another surge in respiratory viruses this fall, we know strong physician leadership is essential to reducing preventable illness, hospitalizations, and death. Vaccines for influenza, RSV, and COVID-19 remain among the best tools to protect the public against these illnesses and their potentially serious complications—and physicians are among the most trusted voices to recommend them. We come together as physicians from every corner of medicine to reaffirm our commitment to these lifesaving vaccines.Recent changes to federal immunization review processes raised concerns across the medical and public health community. In this moment of uncertainty, physicians must align around clear, evidence-based guidance for patients.We commit to working together to promote public understanding and confidence in the use of vaccines to avoid another severe respiratory virus season and resurgence of vaccine-preventable illnesses and deaths. We call on our partners—from insurers to hospitals to public health agencies—to ensure vaccines remain available to patients without cost sharing.The health and safety of the public remains our top priority, and we will continue to support evidence-based immunizations to help prevent severe disease and protect public health.Your continued partners in health,American Medical AssociationAcademy of Physicians in Clinical ResearchAlaska State Medical AssociationAmerican Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive SurgeryAmerican Academy of Family PhysiciansAmerican Academy of Hospice and Palliative MedicineAmerican Academy of NeurologyAmerican Academy of OphthalmologyAmerican Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck SurgeryAmerican Academy of PediatricsAmerican Academy of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationAmerican Association of Public Health Physicians American College of Allergy, Asthma and ImmunologyAmerican College of Chest PhysiciansAmerican College of Correctional PhysiciansAmerican College of Emergency PhysiciansAmerican College of Medical Genetics and GenomicsAmerican College of Obstetricians and GynecologistsAmerican College of PhysiciansAmerican College of Rheumatology American Gastroenterological AssociationAmerican Geriatrics SocietyAmerican Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle SocietyAmerican Osteopathic Association American Society for Clinical PathologyAmerican Society for Gastrointestinal EndoscopyAmerican Society of AnesthesiologistsAmerican Society of HematologyAmerican Society of NephrologyAmerican Society of NeuroimagingAmerican Society of Nuclear CardiologyAmerican Society of Transplant SurgeonsAmerican Thoracic SocietyArizona Medical AssociationCalifornia Medical Association College of American PathologistsColorado Medical SocietyEndocrine Society GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ EqualityHawaii Medical AssociationIdaho Medical AssociationIllinois State Medical SocietyIndiana State Medical AssociationInfectious Diseases Society of AmericaKentucky Medical AssociationKorean American Medical AssociationLouisiana State Medical SocietyMaine Medical AssociationMassachusetts Medical SocietyMedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society Medical Association of GeorgiaMedical Association of the State of AlabamaMedical Society of DCMedical Society of DelawareMedical Society of the State of New YorkMichigan State Medical SocietyMinnesota Medical Association Mississippi State Medical Association Missouri State Medical AssociationMontana Medical AssociationNebraska Medical AssociationNew Mexico Medical SocietyNorth Carolina Medical SocietyNorth Dakota Medical AssociationOhio State Medical AssociationOklahoma State Medical AssociationPennsylvania Medical SocietyRhode Island Medical SocietySociety for Maternal-Fetal MedicineSociety for Pediatric DermatologySociety of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES)Society of Critical Care MedicineSociety of Hospital MedicineSouth Dakota State Medical AssociationTexas Medical AssociationVermont Medical SocietyWashington State Medical AssociationWisconsin Medical SocietyWyoming Medical Society Upvote 330 Vaccines, Vaccinations & Immunizations Influenza (Seasonal Flu) Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) Coronavirus (COVID-19) Catalog of Topics FEATURED STORIES State momentum grows to curb corporate influence in health care Nov 12, 2025 | 4 Min Read With ambient AI, 93% of doctors can give patients “full attention” Nov 6, 2025 | 7 Min Read The physician private practice to-do list for a strong year-end finish Nov 11, 2025 | 4 Min Read What doctors wish patients knew about sleep apnea Nov 7, 2025 | 12 Min Read
An open letter to the American people:With the severe influenza season the U.S. experienced during the 2024-25 respiratory virus season, and the recognition that we will likely see another surge in respiratory viruses this fall, we know strong physician leadership is essential to reducing preventable illness, hospitalizations, and death. Vaccines for influenza, RSV, and COVID-19 remain among the best tools to protect the public against these illnesses and their potentially serious complications—and physicians are among the most trusted voices to recommend them. We come together as physicians from every corner of medicine to reaffirm our commitment to these lifesaving vaccines.Recent changes to federal immunization review processes raised concerns across the medical and public health community. In this moment of uncertainty, physicians must align around clear, evidence-based guidance for patients.We commit to working together to promote public understanding and confidence in the use of vaccines to avoid another severe respiratory virus season and resurgence of vaccine-preventable illnesses and deaths. We call on our partners—from insurers to hospitals to public health agencies—to ensure vaccines remain available to patients without cost sharing.The health and safety of the public remains our top priority, and we will continue to support evidence-based immunizations to help prevent severe disease and protect public health.Your continued partners in health,American Medical AssociationAcademy of Physicians in Clinical ResearchAlaska State Medical AssociationAmerican Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive SurgeryAmerican Academy of Family PhysiciansAmerican Academy of Hospice and Palliative MedicineAmerican Academy of NeurologyAmerican Academy of OphthalmologyAmerican Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck SurgeryAmerican Academy of PediatricsAmerican Academy of Physical Medicine and RehabilitationAmerican Association of Public Health Physicians American College of Allergy, Asthma and ImmunologyAmerican College of Chest PhysiciansAmerican College of Correctional PhysiciansAmerican College of Emergency PhysiciansAmerican College of Medical Genetics and GenomicsAmerican College of Obstetricians and GynecologistsAmerican College of PhysiciansAmerican College of Rheumatology American Gastroenterological AssociationAmerican Geriatrics SocietyAmerican Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle SocietyAmerican Osteopathic Association American Society for Clinical PathologyAmerican Society for Gastrointestinal EndoscopyAmerican Society of AnesthesiologistsAmerican Society of HematologyAmerican Society of NephrologyAmerican Society of NeuroimagingAmerican Society of Nuclear CardiologyAmerican Society of Transplant SurgeonsAmerican Thoracic SocietyArizona Medical AssociationCalifornia Medical Association College of American PathologistsColorado Medical SocietyEndocrine Society GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ EqualityHawaii Medical AssociationIdaho Medical AssociationIllinois State Medical SocietyIndiana State Medical AssociationInfectious Diseases Society of AmericaKentucky Medical AssociationKorean American Medical AssociationLouisiana State Medical SocietyMaine Medical AssociationMassachusetts Medical SocietyMedChi, The Maryland State Medical Society Medical Association of GeorgiaMedical Association of the State of AlabamaMedical Society of DCMedical Society of DelawareMedical Society of the State of New YorkMichigan State Medical SocietyMinnesota Medical Association Mississippi State Medical Association Missouri State Medical AssociationMontana Medical AssociationNebraska Medical AssociationNew Mexico Medical SocietyNorth Carolina Medical SocietyNorth Dakota Medical AssociationOhio State Medical AssociationOklahoma State Medical AssociationPennsylvania Medical SocietyRhode Island Medical SocietySociety for Maternal-Fetal MedicineSociety for Pediatric DermatologySociety of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES)Society of Critical Care MedicineSociety of Hospital MedicineSouth Dakota State Medical AssociationTexas Medical AssociationVermont Medical SocietyWashington State Medical AssociationWisconsin Medical SocietyWyoming Medical Society