Attorney General Ken Paxton has criticized the Texas Medical Association for allegedly rejecting recent federal advisory guidance that emphasizes patient and parent choice in pediatric COVID-19 vaccination decisions, framing the move as an anti-science shift that sidelines informed consent and parental discretion.
Paxton urged Texas physicians to oppose what he called a quiet policy change and pledged continued alignment with President Donald Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on expanding medical freedom and patient-centered decision-making.
Federal health officials updated the national immunization schedules to apply individual-based decision-making for COVID-19 vaccination for both adults and children, explicitly framing COVID shots as a shared clinical decision based on each patient’s risk factors and best-available evidence rather than an across-the-board mandate.
The schedules, approved by Centers for Disease Control leadership following the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) vote, emphasize informed consent and risk–benefit dialogue.
Paxton argues the TMA is undermining this federal shift by expanding its official vaccine resource list beyond the federal schedules—breaking with past practice of pointing physicians primarily to federal guidance.
In doing so, Paxton claims TMA is dulling the impact of shared clinical decision-making and heightened informed consent, especially for pediatric COVID-19 vaccination.
TMA President Jayesh “Jay” Shah told Texas Scorecard, “patients and physicians should make informed medical decisions together.”
“TMA supports vaccine recommendations based on peer-reviewed safety and effectiveness data so the decision by the patient and their physician to vaccinate is one built on trust and is for the well-being of the patient and community,” added Shah. “Decisions that deviate from such scientific evidence create confusion for patients, physicians, and the health care workforce and infrastructure – including payers – and can discourage staying up to date with immunizations that have been proven to be safe and effective.”
According to TMA, this is the information it shared with physicians:
Examples of supported vaccine recommendations include but are not limited to physician professional organizations such as the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), American College of Physicians (ACP), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), as well as other public health, health department, or medical professional organizations when based on peer-reviewed scientific evidence and subject to independent expert review.
According to Paxton, TMA’s resource expansion functions as a backdoor attempt to keep pressure on pediatric COVID vaccination despite federal movement toward individualized decisions.
Paxton called on TMA to reverse course and urged Texas physicians to speak out publicly, contending the association’s approach is inconsistent with current federal recommendations and basic medical ethics around consent and individualized care.
“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,” said Paxton. “This decision should be reversed immediately, and I encourage every Texas physician to speak out against this brazen, flawed shift by TMA.”
