A federal judge gave a ruling for Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr., temporarily blocking his efforts to overhaul the nation’s childhood vaccination guidelines. It halts Kennedy’s order to scale back vaccine recommendations and puts his restructuring of a key federal vaccine committee on ice.
RFK Jr.’s recommendation blocked by Judges
Judge Brian E. Murphy issued a temporary halt preventing federal health officials from cutting the number of vaccines recommended for every child. The decision stops an order Kennedy announced in January that would have ended broad recommendations for all children to be vaccinated against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis, and RSV.
The ruling came in response to an amended lawsuit filed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other leading medical groups. The plaintiffs argued that RFK Jr.’s actions would undermine protections given by vaccines against a half-dozen diseases affecting children nationwide.
The court found that Kennedy likely violated federal procedures when he reconstituted the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Kennedy built his public profile as an anti-vaccine activist before becoming the nation’s top health official. Additionally, he fired the entire 17-member panel last year and replaced it with a group that includes several anti-vaccine voices.
Now, Murphy, a Biden appointee, ruled that Kennedy’s reconstitution of ACIP likely violated federal law. He immediately ordered a halt to the appointments and all decisions made by the reformed committee.
The ruling effectively postpones ACIP’s scheduled meeting this week. This was set to discuss COVID-19 vaccines among other issues. Richard Hughes IV, an attorney representing the AAP, questioned the committee’s functionality, stating: “ACIP as currently constituted cannot meet. How can a committee meet without nearly the entirety of its membership?”
The original lawsuit initially focused on Kennedy’s decision to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccinations for children and pregnant women. Medical societies grew alarmed as Kennedy took additional steps, prompting them to update the complaint. Eventually, they asked the court to address those policy changes as well (via PBS News).
