A federal judge in Boston has temporarily blocked U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from implementing sweeping cuts to the national childhood vaccine schedule.
The order halts recommendations for flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A and B, certain meningitis strains, and RSV - changes announced by Kennedy in January.
Judge Brian E. Murphy ruled Kennedy likely violated federal law by disbanding the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and replacing its 17 members with a new panel including prominent anti-vaccine figures.
The American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups amended their July lawsuit - originally targeting Kennedy’s removal of pediatric COVID-19 vaccine recommendations - to challenge the broader ACIP overhaul and resulting policy shifts.
Murphy ordered all appointments and decisions by the reconstituted ACIP placed on hold. The committee’s scheduled meeting this week was postponed.
