Judge Denies HHS Effort to Dismiss Vaccine Policy Lawsuit

On Tuesday, a judge said he will allow the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other medical groups to continue their lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over federal vaccine policy and advisers.

The lawsuit challenges HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s changes to COVID-19 vaccine policy without scientific evidence and his decision to replace members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) with people who lack the credentials and required experience.

“Today’s ruling moves our case forward and reinforces our commitment to challenge unlawful changes to vaccine policy,” said AAP President Andrew D. Racine, M.D., Ph.D., FAAP. “The American Academy of Pediatrics will continue to take all necessary actions to safeguard children’s health. We brought this suit because our nation’s vaccine policy must be driven by evidence and lawful process, not by arbitrary shifts divorced from science.”

The ruling followed Kennedy’s announcement on Monday that overhauls the CDC’s immunization schedule and removes universal recommendations from six childhood vaccines without scientific evidence for doing so. The new schedule is similar to Denmark’s, which has one of the lowest numbers of recommended childhood vaccines among peer nations with just 10. The AAP and other medical groups said they are exploring all available options in response to these unprecedented changes.

On Tuesday, the West Coast Health Alliance said it plans to continues to recommend vaccination in alignment with the AAP Recommended Child and Adolescent Immunization Schedule. AAP recommendations consider the risk of diseases in the U.S. among other factors.

The AAP also was in court in Washington, D.C., Tuesday in a separate case against HHS over its termination of seven federal grants totaling nearly US$12 million in retaliation for the AAP speaking out against the administration’s actions that have threatened children’s health. The AAP is asking a judge to restore the grants while the case proceeds and is awaiting a ruling.