Maryland bucks feds, offers its own vaccine guidance ahead of flu season

Maryland health officials released their guidance on vaccines ahead of the fall flu season, making use for the first time of new legal authority to split from federal authorities.

“We recognize Marylanders are facing back-to-school germs and the upcoming respiratory virus season, all while navigating shifting vaccine guidance from the federal government,” Dr. Meena Seshamani, Maryland health secretary, said during a news conference Thursday.

Seshamani was given authority through the state Vax Act , passed earlier this year, to tie Maryland’s guidance to major medical associations rather than the federal health agencies that have long advised the public. The associations include the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.