A federal judge on March 16 blocked efforts by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to restructure U.S. childhood immunization policy and overhaul the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee.
The court concluded the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices was unlawfully constituted under the Federal Advisory Committee Act and vacated its prior actions, according to the ruling, issued in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Becker’s reviewed the ruling; it voided all votes taken by Mr. Kennedy’s appointees and reinstated the 17 previously removed members. The panel’s next meeting had been scheduled for March 18-19.
In June, Mr. Kennedy removed all 17 members of the ACIP and appointed 13 new members. Over the following months, the reconstituted panel backed a series of changes, including a Sept. 18 vote to split the MMRV combination shot and exclude it from federal coverage, and a recommendation to remove thimerosal from all influenza vaccines.
The CDC adopted the new recommendations Jan. 5, cutting its routine childhood immunization schedule from 18 to 11 diseases.
Fifteen states and several medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, sued to block the changes, arguing Mr. Kennedy’s appointees were unlawfully installed and that the revised schedule lacked scientific review.
The American Medical Association applauded the court’s decision. In a statement shared with Becker’s, AMA board chair David Aizuss, MD, said “vaccines are one of the safest and most effective tools in medicine, and strong, science-based immunization policies save lives.”
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