Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton Slams Texas Med­ical Asso­ci­a­tion for Brazen­ly Reject­ing Patient Choice for COVID-19 Vaccinations

Attorney General Ken Paxton issued the following statement slamming the Texas Medical Association (“TMA”) for its anti-scientific undermining of new federal guidelines from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (“ACIP”) regarding childhood COVID-19 vaccinations. Despite this radical shift, TMA's decision was adopted quietly and has largely been concealed from the public. 

“It’s outrageous TMA is undermining ACIP’s new federal guidelines for COVID-19 vaccines that expand personal freedom and mitigate the medical tyranny of the Biden Administration. TMA has chosen to try and ignore the overwhelming evidence and science-backed recommendations from ACIP that ensure Texas children are not subjected to a one-size-fits-all COVID-19 vaccine mandate. This decision should be reversed immediately, and I encourage every Texas physician to speak out against this brazen, flawed shift by TMA,” said Attorney General Paxton. “Secretary Kennedy’s HHS and ACIP have been doing incredible work following the actual science instead of merely trying to get as many jabs into as many arms as possible, regardless of the true medical justification or lack thereof. I will continue to stand with President Trump and Secretary Kennedy to help the American people live healthier lives.” 

Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) and ACIP updated its vaccine guidance and no longer recommends that every single child in America receive the COVID-19 vaccine regardless of their individual circumstances. Rather, it instituted a “shared clinical decision-making” process, which gives parents and families the choice whether they want their child to receive the vaccine or not in consultation with their doctor. For the first time, ACIP is also issuing informed consent forms of the risks and benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine, and physicians are encouraged to make sure their patients are fully informed on the COVID-19 vaccine. Under the leadership of President Donald Trump and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., this represents a major win for personal liberty. 

However, in response to this decision by the CDC, TMA broke with its longtime practice of referring Texas physicians to the federal government for guidance on vaccine information. TMA expanded its official vaccine resources list beyond the federal guidelines in a blatant attempt to undermine the science-backed ACIP recommendations and push COVID-19 vaccines on Texas kids at all costs.