Read AMA Morning Rounds®’ most popular stories in medicine and public health from the week of Sept. 22, 2025–Sept. 26, 2025.
ACIP votes to limit access to COVID-19 vaccines
The New York Times (9/19, Mandavilli) reported the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices “voted unanimously on Friday to further limit access to COVID vaccines,” recommending “that adults 65 and older receive the shots only after discussing the potential benefits and risks with a health care provider.” The panel also said that everyone between 6 months and 64 years old could get the vaccine after consulting with a provider. The two decisions “raise questions about whether Americans can continue to walk into their neighborhood pharmacies for routine vaccinations or whether in some states they will first need a doctor’s permission.” While the approved recommendations “were less restrictive than many had expected,” they will still “make it more difficult for pharmacists in some states to administer the shots to older adults.”
The AP (9/19, Stobbe, Neergaard) reported that in addition to “declining to recommend” COVID-19 vaccines to anyone, the panel “also urged the CDC to adopt stronger language around claims of vaccine risks, despite pushback from outside medical groups who said the shots had a proven safety record from the billions of doses administered worldwide.”
Reuters (9/20, Erman, Sunny, Steenhuysen) reported ACIP “earlier on Friday abandoned a vote that would have delayed the first hepatitis B vaccine dose for newborns, giving a temporary win to doctors, public health experts and patient advocates who had decried the move.” Meanwhile, AHIP, the insurance industry lobbying group, “said it stood by its comment earlier this week that it would cover COVID vaccines through 2026.”
Editor’s Note: Read the AMA statement on ACIP's new process and recommendations.
Administration promotes unproven link between Tylenol, vaccines, autism
The AP (9/22, Swenson, Seitz) reports that on Monday, the President promoted “unproven and in some cases discredited ties between Tylenol, vaccines and autism as his administration announced a wide-ranging effort to study the causes of the complex brain disorder.” In a news conference at the White House, the President urged pregnant women not to take acetaminophen. He “also fueled long-debunked claims that ingredients in vaccines or timing shots close together could contribute to rising rates of autism in the U.S., without providing any medical evidence.”
Reuters (9/22, Erman, Aboulenein, Steenhuysen) reports the President, who was accompanied by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., “called for a reexamination of a link between vaccines and autism, a theory that has been repeatedly debunked, and a series of changes not grounded in science.” The Administration “also suggested leucovorin, a form of folic acid, as a treatment for autism symptoms.”
NBC News (9/22, Lovelace Jr., Bendix, Edwards) reports the President “spoke alongside Kennedy, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya and Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.” Kennedy “said the FDA will issue a letter advising health care providers that acetaminophen should be used during pregnancy only in cases of high fever, when the fever itself may pose a health risk to the fetus.” Bhattacharya also “said at Monday’s briefing that the NIH will dedicate $50 million to 13 research projects focused on identifying root causes and treatments for autism,” an effort known as the “autism data science initiative.”
Editor’s Note: Learn how the AMA is working to promote public understanding and confidence in the use of vaccines to avoid the resurgence of vaccine-preventable illnesses and deaths.
CDC reports increase in “nightmare bacteria” cases
The AP (9/23, Stobbe) says infection rates from drug-resistant “nightmare bacteria” have risen nearly 70% from 2019 to 2023, according to a new report from CDC researchers published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The increase is primarily driven by bacteria with the NDM gene, with only two expensive, IV-administered antibiotics effective against them. While the number of patients infected by NDMs is “still small, the rate of U.S. cases jumped more than fivefold in recent years, the researchers reported.” The CDC’s data from 29 states showed 4,341 carbapenem-resistant bacterial infections in 2023, with 1,831 being NDM cases. The scientists warned that it is likely that many people are unrecognized carriers of the drug-resistant bacteria, which could result in community spread.
Research quantifies prevalence of CVD risk factors in U.S. adults
HealthDay (9/24, Gotkine) reports, “During August 2021 to August 2023, only 36.4% of U.S. adults had no cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, according to a September data brief published by the National Center for Health Statistics.” Investigators “found that 36.4, 34.9, and 28.7% of U.S. adults had no, one, and two or more CVD risk factors, respectively.” The data indicated that “more men than women had two or more CVD risk factors (31.7 versus 25.8%).”
You may also be interested in: To prevent heart disease, intervene early and often.
AMA, medical groups urge DHS to exempt physicians from $100K H-1B visa fee
Reuters (9/25, Mahatole) reports the American Medical Association and 53 leading medical societies sent a letter Thursday urging the Department of Homeland Security to exempt physicians from the newly announced $100,000 H-1B visa application fee. In the letter, “the groups urged the agency to issue guidance exempting physicians, residents and fellows from the proposed fee, arguing they are essential to sustaining a robust health care workforce in the country. The American Medical Association said it is eager to collaborate with the administration to safeguard patient access to care.” According to Reuters, the “visas are widely used by the U.S. health care sector to recruit international medical graduates or foreign-trained doctors and other professionals trained abroad.”
AMA president Bobby Mukkamala, MD, writes in US News & World Report (9/25) that the administration’s H-1B visa fee decision “may be intended to boost the hiring of Americans, but it will bring unintended consequences for patients and our entire health care system.” He argues that the U.S. “relies heavily on foreign-born doctors because of a crippling shortage of physicians across the country; in just over a decade, we’re expected to face a shortfall of 86,000 doctors as our population ages and people live longer. Charging a six-figure visa fee to get qualified foreign-born doctors to fill that gap will only make the situation worse.” Dr. Mukkamala writes, “The AMA stands ready to work with the administration and our partners in medicine to support our patients and communities. Investments we make today will ensure our nation has the physician workforce it needs to confront the health challenges of tomorrow.”
Editor’s Note: Read more on why the AMA is urging DHS to exempt physicians from new $100,000 H-1B visa fee.
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