The news: Due to confusing guidance from the federal government, medical associations and several states are creating their own vaccine recommendations for the public, per a Reuters report.

How we got here: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was behind a recent decision to remove the COVID-19 vaccine recommendation for healthy pregnant women. Kennedy also wanted to remove it for healthy children, before the CDC said that whether kids should get the COVID-19 shot should come down to “shared clinical decision-making” between parents and doctors.

The policy shift is already having an effect. One pregnant woman in Seattle was denied the COVID-19 shot by two different pharmacies that cited the new guidelines, per CNN. And some parents are asking their kids’ pediatricians for vaccines ahead of schedule due to concerns they may not be readily available for much longer, per Bloomberg.

Prominent US medical groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), sued Kennedy and other top government health officials over the decision earlier this month. The lawsuit alleges the decision was unlawful and accuses Kennedy of undermining the public’s trust in proven vaccines.

Other stakeholders step up: Medical trade groups and some states are taking action to lessen confusion among patients, doctors, and pharmacists.

• The AAP and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists are developing their own evidence-based guidelines ahead of an expected surge in COVID-19 and flu cases later this year.
• State leaders in Wisconsin, California, Washington State, and Oregon said they’ll continue endorsing COVID-19 vaccines for children 6 months and older and pregnant women.
• Other states already have or are considering using medical associations’ recommendations—as opposed to the government’s—as the standard for when to give children immunizations.