A federal judge has struck down new childhood vaccination guidance issued in January by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., ruling the changes unlawful and inconsistent with established scientific and legal processes. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy found that the updated guidance—which cut the number of recommended childhood immunizations from 16 to 11 and downgraded recommendations for rotavirus, influenza, and hepatitis A—failed to follow the scientific and procedural methods that had previously guided national immunization policy.
Murphy also barred Kennedy’s 13 appointees to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), concluding the committee had been improperly constituted. The lawsuit was brought by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other major medical groups, which argued ACIP had become dominated by individuals aligned with Kennedy’s vaccine positions and was no longer balanced as required by the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
As a result of the ruling, ACIP meetings scheduled for this week to consider possible changes to COVID-19 vaccine recommendations were postponed. The judge placed a hold on ACIP votes taken since June, including a December decision to roll back the long-standing recommendation that newborns receive the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine within 24 hours of birth.
Medical groups and pediatricians praised the decision. AAP President Andrew Racine called the outcome historic and said it restores a science-based process for immunization policy. Pediatricians including Graham Tse and Danelle Fisher argued the recent changes were made by people without relevant expertise and without new supporting data, and warned that undoing established recommendations could harm children and confuse families. Tse emphasized the importance of a single, unified vaccination schedule supported across federal and state authorities to maintain public confidence and prevent confusion.
Experts stressed the public-health stakes. The AAP recommends vaccination against 18 diseases from birth through age 18. Public-health officials cited recent outbreaks—more than 1,300 confirmed measles cases in the United States in 2026 versus 285 in all of 2024—as evidence of the consequences of reduced vaccination coverage. William Schaffner, a professor of medicine, noted that vaccines protect vulnerable and immunocompromised people and have dramatically reduced childhood illness and death.
The administration that appointed Kennedy is expected to appeal Murphy’s ruling. The decision pauses Kennedy-era changes to federal vaccine policy while legal challenges proceed and highlights judicial enforcement of established scientific procedures in federal immunization policymaking.
