Medical Groups Seek Court Order to Block New CDC Vaccine Rules

Six prominent medical associations say they will ask the courts to reverse the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s new recommendations for what vaccines children should get.

The American Academy of Pediatrics said Wednesday that it’s part of the effort with the American College of Physicians, the American Public Health Association, the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance, the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. The groups are also seeking to stop next month’s scheduled meeting of the CDC’s independent vaccine advisers, all of whom were appointed by US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after he fired the previous advisers.

Last week, HHS announced changes to the vaccine schedule for American children that narrowed recommendations for vaccinations against meningococcal disease, hepatitis B and hepatitis A to people at higher risk for infections. the updated CDC schedule also recommends that decisions on vaccinations against flu, Covid-19 and rotavirus be based on “shared clinical decision-making,” which means people who want one must consult with a health care provider. HHS said that all insurers will still cover these vaccines.

When there were previous changes to the government’s vaccine recommendations, new evidence published in the scientific literature or presented by vaccine makers would be evaluated by the CDC’s vaccine advisers, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP.

But that wasn’t the case with the latest changes; no new evidence was brought to the committee to challenge the safety or effectiveness of the recommended vaccines. Rather, the decision was made in the wake of an order from President Donald Trump to HHS to review the US childhood vaccination schedule along with those of other developed nations. The new US vaccine schedule resembles the schedule in Denmark.

“Children’s health depends on vaccine recommendations based on rigorous, transparent science,” American Academy of Pediatrics President Dr. Andrew Racine said in a statement Wednesday. “Unfortunately, recent decisions by federal officials have abandoned this standard, causing unnecessary confusion for families, compromising access to lifesaving vaccines and weakening community protection.”

The medical groups’ first request to a federal judge is to restore the vaccine schedule to where it was on April 15, 2025, before any changes were made by HHS under Kennedy.

The second request is to stop ACIP from meeting at the end of February. The groups say the panel relies on “spurious evidence” to make its recommendations, and they are seeking to replace the members, saying Kennedy appointed advisers who lack the required experience and credentials.

“AAP continues with their attempts to hinder this Administration’s work through procedural and legal challenges while trying to preserve a broken status quo,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement Wednesday. “ACIP continues to operate lawfully and transparently, and its next meeting is scheduled to proceed in February.”

Kennedy removed all the previous ACIP members last year and replaced them with his own picks, many of whom share his skepticism of vaccines. He also ousted the CDC director, who typically signs off on the agency’s vaccine recommendations.

Kennedy appointed two more members to the vaccine panel on Tuesday. One of them, Dr. Kimberly Biss, an obstetrician/gynecologist, has described herself as “anti-vaccine.” The other, Dr. Adam Urato, also an ob/gyn, has said on social media that “the science is not ‘long-settled’ regarding vaccines.”

When Kennedy’s newly reconstituted ACIP met last year, members voted to weaken recommendations for universal hepatitis B vaccination for newborns and to stop recommending certain flu vaccines that have thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that has been falsely linked to autism. The committee has said it will continue to reassess even long-established vaccine data.

The efforts announced by the medical groups Wednesday are part of a larger lawsuit against HHS over ACIP and its changes to Covid-19 vaccine recommendations. HHS has made a motion to dismiss the suit, but Judge Brian Murphy rejected the request last week.

A hearing on the preliminary injunction is scheduled for February 13.