A federal judge in Massachusetts on Monday blocked the recent reform of the national childhood vaccination schedule carried out by the Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other medical associations against the Department of Health and Human Services, alleging that Kennedy’s changes to vaccine recommendations and an influential vaccine advisory committee violated federal law.
In January, Kennedy and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) introduced sweeping changes to the childhood vaccination schedule, by reducing the number of recommended vaccines from 18 to 11. The change in CDC guidelines removed recommendations that all babies should be vaccinated against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, RSV, dengue and two types of bacterial meningitis.
The judge also suspended the appointments of new members Kennedy appointed last June to the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices helps shape U.S. vaccination policy, including the recommendations included in the childhood vaccination schedule and which vaccines should be covered by insurance.
The commission was scheduled to meet on Wednesday and Thursday. According to AAP lawyer Richard Hughes, the judge’s decision effectively prevents that meeting from taking place.
