A coalition of 14 states led by California and Arizona attorneys general filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging the Trump administration’s sweeping changes to childhood vaccination guidelines that health experts fear could reduce immunization rates nationwide.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has dramatically altered established vaccine policies since assuming his role in the new administration.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released updated immunization guidelines that eliminated blanket recommendations for vaccines protecting against COVID-19, rotavirus, flu, meningococcal disease, and both hepatitis A and B. Instead, the new policy directs parents to discuss vaccination decisions with their doctors through what officials term “shared clinical decision-making.”
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro joined the Democratic attorneys general in filing the federal court challenge in Northern California, targeting both the policy changes and Kennedy’s decision to replace members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
The advisory panel plans to convene in March after its February meeting was scrapped.
This legal challenge follows similar litigation filed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other prominent medical groups, who contend the policy revisions lack scientific backing and violate federal law.
During a recent court hearing in Massachusetts, a Justice Department lawyer defended the health agency, stating it was not promoting an anti-vaccination stance. That separate case remains pending before a federal judge.
The multistate coalition also includes Connecticut, Michigan, New Jersey, and Wisconsin, among other participating states.
