A coalition of medical and public health organizations in the US, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and others, is suing Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and other federal officials.
The lawsuit challenges Kennedy’s directive that removed COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s official immunization schedules. The complainants allege that RFK Jr’s directive bypassed established scientific and regulatory procedures. They argue that the action ignored recommendations by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which traditionally oversees updates to the immunization schedule, and did not provide a scientific rationale or cite new data justifying the change.
The directive was announced via social media on May 27 and was accompanied by a formal document dated May 19. Plaintiffs claim the change was made without consulting CDC officials or ACIP members, and that it contradicted prior public health guidance, including statements from FDA officials on the elevated risks COVID-19 poses to pregnant individuals.
The lawsuit argues that the directive violates the Administrative Procedure Act by being “arbitrary and capricious” and not in accordance with federal law. “The Secretary cited no emergency, let alone change in circumstances, to justify the Directive,” says the lawsuit. “The Directive is in direct contradiction of multiple federal and state laws that require reliance on ACIP recommendations for the CDC immunization schedules, not the decisions of a single individual like the Secretary.”
The plaintiffs seek to vacate the directive and reinstate prior CDC recommendations for COVID-19 vaccination in children and pregnant women. They are also requesting a court order barring enforcement or promotion of the directive and reinstating the previous CDC schedule on official platforms.
The lawsuit says, “Unless the Secretary's baseless and uninformed policy decision is vacated, pregnant women, their unborn children, and, in fact, all children remain at grave and immediate risk of contracting a preventable disease. This decision immediately exposes these vulnerable populations to a serious illness with potentially irreversible long-term effects and, in some cases, death. This is not a hypothetical concern, but a pressing public health emergency that demands immediate legal action and correction.”
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