Statement attributable to:
Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD
Trustee, American Medical Association
“The American Medical Association is deeply alarmed by efforts to weaken long-standing evidence-based vaccine recommendations, including suggestions that polio vaccination should seemingly not be routinely recommended to patients.
“This is not a theoretical debate—it is a dangerous step backward.
“Vaccines have saved millions of lives and virtually eliminated devastating diseases like polio in the United States. There is no cure for polio. When vaccination rates fall, paralysis, lifelong disability, and death return. The science on this is settled.
“Moving away from routine immunizations, which involves discussions between clinicians and patients, does not increase freedom—it increases suffering. It puts children, families, and entire communities at risk and undermines the public health protections that generations of Americans depend on.
“The AMA strongly urges policymakers to follow the evidence and the expertise of physicians and public health professionals. Weakening vaccine recommendations will cost lives, and that is a price our nation should not be willing to pay.”
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About the American Medical Association
The American Medical Association is the physicians’ powerful ally in patient care. As the only medical association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders, the AMA represents physicians with a unified voice to all key players in health care. The AMA leverages its strength by removing the obstacles that interfere with patient care, leading the charge to prevent chronic disease and confront public health crises and, driving the future of medicine to tackle the biggest challenges in health care.
