US health secretary Robert F Kennedy (RFK) Jr’s ongoing overhaul of the vaccine sector in the US has hit a roadblock, after a judge halted nearly all the changes following a lawsuit from leading medical associations.
At the heart of the court ruling was RFK Jr’s changes to the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) panel responsible for reviewing vaccine data and issuing official government recommendations on immunisations.
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Over the course of 2025, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) chief replaced all existing members with a new slate of advisers. Among the new joiners were well-known vaccine sceptics and individuals who were critical of Covid-19-related countermeasures.
Federal judge Brian Murphy has ruled that the appointments likely violated US law, adding that all votes taken by the panel have been suspended. Chief among these was a significant shrinking to the childhood immunisation schedule in January 2026, removing recommendations for several vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), hepatitis A/B, and dengue, among others.
The ACIP also voted to scrap broad hepatitis B vaccine recommendations in December 2025, bringing an abrupt to medical guidance that has been in place since 1986.
Those decisions, along with other Covid-19 vaccine policy shifts, have resulted in pushback from the medical community. Bodies including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Public Health Association, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, among others, filed a lawsuit against RFK Jr seeking an injunction in July 2025.
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By GlobalDataAs a result of the judge’s ruling, the heavily revised vaccine schedule has been stayed, Covid-19 recommendation changes have been overturned, and the downgraded Hepatitis B vaccine recommendations have been reversed.
HHS did not immediately respond to Pharmaceutical Technology when asked for comment.
Outcome said to be a win for US children and families
Richard Hughes IV, one of the lawyers representing AAP, said: “This ruling is a momentous step toward restoring science-based vaccine policymaking. The judge recognised that the actions of Secretary Kennedy and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices are not grounded in science and that they are destructive.”
AAP’s president Andrew Racine said the ruling is a “historic and welcomed outcome” for children, families, paediatricians and communities across the US, adding that it is an “important step toward restoring scientific decision-making”.
Racine continued: “Protecting the health and safety of America’s children is what prompted the AAP to petition the court for this decision from the outset and that goal will remain our guiding principle.”
Legal challenges mount
RFK Jr’s overhaul of immunisation has not only angered medical bodies. In February 2026, more than a dozen US states sued the Trump administration after characterising recent policy changes as “unlawful” and “unscientific”. HHS and CDC are named as defendants, along with their respective heads, RFK Jr and acting director Jay Bhattacharya.
At the time, an HHS spokeswoman, Emily Hilliard, dismissed the legal action, calling it a “publicity stunt dressed up as a lawsuit.”
While that legal battle begins, the AAP lawsuit is far from over. The larger case is now cleared to move forward, though the US Government could appeal against the judge’s ruling.
