Federal judge blocks RFK Jr.’s changes to childhood vaccine schedule
A federal judge in Massachusetts on Monday blocked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent review of the nation’s childhood immunization schedule — a major blow to his immunization program.
The decision follows a lawsuit filed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other medical groups against the Department of Health and Human Services, arguing that Kennedy’s changes to vaccine recommendations and an influential vaccine advisory committee violated federal law.
In January, Kennedy and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made sweeping changes to the childhood immunization schedule, reducing the number of recommended shots from 18 to 11. The change removed recommendations that all babies should be protected against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, RSV, dengue fever and two types of bacterial meningitis.
In response, more than 200 groups, including the American Medical Association, March of Dimes and the Autism Science Foundation, announced they would ignore the changes and instead follow the AAP’s vaccination schedule.
The judge also suspended new members Kennedy has appointed to the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee since June. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices helps shape U.S. immunization policy, including recommendations that influence the childhood immunization schedule and which vaccines insurance should cover.
The panel was scheduled to meet Wednesday and Thursday. According to AAP attorney Richard Hughes, the judge’s decision essentially prevents the meeting from taking place.
An HHS official confirmed that the meeting had been postponed.
The decision also suspended all votes Kennedy’s ACIP has made since June, including a vote to no longer recommend the hepatitis B vaccine for all newborns.
The move is a setback for Kennedy, a longtime anti-vaccine activist who promised to restore trust in public health agencies but whose controversial policies have sowed confusion among pediatricians and helped increase distrust in childhood vaccinations, experts say. A recent survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania found that trust in public health agencies plummeted during President Donald Trump’s second term.
“Today is the day to celebrate the triumph of science over misinformation,” said Dr. Richard Besser, president of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “This is a major blow to Kennedy’s vaccine policy.”
Dr. Andrew Racine, president of the AAP, said the decision “restored a degree of clarity” on childhood vaccinations. “If anyone has questions about the appropriate vaccination schedule for their children, the best thing to do is talk to their pediatrician.”
The decision could still be appealed and go to the Supreme Court, Hughes said.
In a statement, Andrew Nixon, an HHS spokesperson, said the agency “looks forward to this judge’s decision being overturned, as are his other attempts to prevent the Trump administration from governing.”
Kennedy has taken a series of steps to reshape federal vaccine policy since taking office.
In June, Kennedy fired all 17 ACIP members and replaced them with his own people, many of whom are critical of vaccines.
He also issued new rules for how vaccines are tested, a move that experts said would make it harder to approve new shots. Kennedy also moved to limit the use of Covid vaccines – making them harder to get for people under 65 – and removed a recommendation that healthy children and pregnant women get vaccinated. He also took a harder line on shots using mRNA technology.
