The American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical organizations are suing Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for revising the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s routine immunizations and restrictions on COVID-19 vaccine access.
Judge Brian E. Murphy blocked the government from implementing Kennedy’s schedule. He wrote in his decision that the government did not go through a careful scientific review. In the New York Times’ post of the case ruling posted, Murphy justifies his solution by stating, “Procedure is to law what scientific method is to science.”
“The vaccine committee has historically made decisions with careful review of scientific evidence,” Murphy stated. “The government has disregarded those methods and thereby undermined the integrity of its actions.”
The CDC issued a directive to stop recommending the COVID-19 vaccine to pregnant women and “healthy” children, partially implementing Kennedy’s order.
The partial implementation included changes to vaccines for influenza, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B and respiratory syncytial virus. Kennedy did not consult with the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices before making these changes. Many ACIP members did not agree with Kennedy’s vaccine changes.
Before issuing these vaccine policy changes, Kennedy terminated all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a federal committee responsible for developing recommendations for vaccine use. According to a New York Times report, Kennedy has expressed skepticism about vaccine safety in public hearings and interviews, stating “It is criminal medical malpractice to give a child one of these vaccines.”
The former ACIP members consisted of scientists, infectious disease specialists and practicing medical doctors.
“A clean sweep is necessary to reestablish public confidence in vaccine science,” Kennedy stated. “The committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine.”
From June 2025 to January 2026, Kennedy appointed all new members to the ACIP. The newly appointed members consist of doctors of philosophy, medical doctors and vaccine researchers. The members appointed by Kennedy have a history of vaccine skepticism.
In accordance with these appointments, Kennedy also ended liaison organizations’ participation. Liaison organizations in healthcare provide information on available services to ensure that medical equipment, treatments and drugs are adequate for use. Kennedy claimed that these organizations were “special interest groups” as justification for their dissolution.
The American Public Health Association filed a complaint challenging the order in July 2025 after Kennedy announced the new vaccine schedule; furthermore, healthcare systems who were not named in the court documents issued several complaints towards the revised agenda. Chief Executive of the American Academy of Pediatrics Mark Del Monte noted that the goal of reinstating the original routine vaccine order is to “restore science to our nation’s vaccine decision making.”
Murphy voiced concerns about Kennedy’s revised vaccine policy. In his written judicial opinion, Murphy wrote that only six of the 13 panelists that Kennedy appointed appear to have experience in vaccine research. Kennedy’s lawyer dismissed Murphy’s statement according to a report by the New York Times, arguing that “The vaccine committee’s decisions powerfully influence states’ vaccination requirements for entry into day care and elementary school and shape insurance coverage of the shots.”
The case resulted in Murphy issuing a preliminary injunction, a temporary ruling that pauses a policy while the case continues through the courts. The preliminary injunction provides short-term relief to the medical organizations suing Kennedy.
The court ruled that Kennedy must return to the original CDC childhood immunization schedule, and his 13-appointed panelists to the ACIP may remain in office. Murphy’s ruling is part of an ongoing legal battle to restore public health in the U.S.
