The US District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction last month to freeze Robert F Kennedy Jr’s appointments to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) for the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), due to likely confliction with the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
The injunction
Judge Brian Murphy also halted all votes taken by the now-stayed ACIP, ruling that most members of a panel appointed by Robert F Kennedy Jr last year were unqualified.
The injunction also paused the heavily revised vaccine schedule issued by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on 5 January 2026, overturned the May 2025 Secretarial Directive on COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, and reversed the downgraded Hepatitis B vaccine recommendations made at the December 2025 ACIP meeting.
Plaintiffs, comprising largely of US health societies and associations, requested the injunction after HHS announced an overhaul of the national paediatric immunisation schedule at the beginning of the year.
Georges Benjamin, CEO, American Public Health Association, Washington DC, US, said: “This injunction underscores the need for using science in public health decision-making and using a process that engages qualified experts when it comes to recommending interventions that impact human health.
“Trust occurs when we engage the public in a transparent process, not one where decisions are made behind closed doors by unqualified individuals and presented in a disingenuous way.”
Wider backlash following vaccine schedule overhaul
The decision comes amid a broader lawsuit, American Academy of Pediatrics et al. v Kennedy et al., challenging recent HHS directives that plaintiffs claim circumvented longstanding, evidence-based procedures traditionally used to develop national vaccine guidance.
Brenda Anders Pring, President, Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Massachusetts, US, said: “The MCAAP applauds Judge Murphy’s quick decision, giving Massachusetts paediatricians the opportunity to celebrate rare good news for child and adolescent health.
“We will continue to stand up for our patients by practicing science-based medicine to counteract this administration’s relentless efforts to undermine vaccines and vaccine policy.”
Upcoming respiratory disease season
The ruling leaves the CDC without an operational advisory panel to recommend new vaccines or updated uses of existing ones, and several FDA-approved vaccines are now pending ACIP review.
Experts have warned that, without ACIP recommendations, insurance coverage for newly licensed vaccines may be impacted.
A spokesperson for the HHS dubbed assertions surrounding next steps unverified by HHS as “speculation”, but neglected to comment further.
Featured image: ronnarong on Adobe Stock
