A federal judge in Boston stepped in on Monday to stop the U.S. Health Department from cutting back the list of vaccines recommended for children across the country. According to a report by the Associated Press, Judge Brian E. Murphy issued a temporary stay against Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., ruling that the administration likely broke federal rules when it tried to overhaul a major vaccine advisory board and strip several shots from the national schedule.
The decision puts a sudden halt to an order Kennedy announced in January. That order aimed to end broad recommendations for kids to get vaccinated against the flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A and B, RSV, and certain types of meningitis.
These changes sparked immediate pushback from major medical groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, which joined a lawsuit to stop the rollback of the childhood immunization schedule.
The legal battle actually started back in July, originally focusing on Kennedy’s move to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women and most children. However, the lawsuit was updated as Kennedy took further steps that worried medical societies.
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One of the biggest sticking points was Kennedy’s decision to fire all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)—the group that tells doctors which vaccines are necessary—and replace them with several voices known for anti-vaccine activism.
Judge Murphy, who was nominated to the bench by President Joe Biden, stated that the way Kennedy rebuilt the ACIP likely violated federal law. Because of this, the judge ordered that all new appointments to the committee, and any decisions they’ve made so far, be put on hold.
The administration isn’t backing down quietly. HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon signaled that the department expects the ruling to be short-lived.
“HHS looks forward to this judge’s decision being overturned just like his other attempts to keep the Trump administration from governing,” Nixon said. For now, the standard vaccine recommendations remain in place as the legal process moves forward.
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