A coalition of leading medical and public health organisations has filed a federal lawsuit against the United States government, challenging its decision to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccinations for most children and pregnant women.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boston, comes in response to a May announcement by US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who ordered the removal of COVID-19 shots from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) official recommendations for healthy children and pregnant individuals.
Also Read | US CDC shifts COVID-19 vaccine guidance for kids to shared decision-making
The plaintiffs include the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, the American College of Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance, and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Also joining the suit is an unnamed pregnant doctor from Massachusetts, listed as “Jane Doe,” who argues that the rollback is making it more difficult for her to access a COVID-19 booster during pregnancy.
The groups argue that Kennedy, a long-time anti-vaccine activist, has undermined long-standing public health processes by bypassing scientific and advisory protocols. Notably, Kennedy recently dismissed the CDC’s 17-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and replaced it with individuals who have voiced scepticism about vaccines.
“This is causing uncertainty and anxiety at almost every pediatric visit that involves vaccines,” said Dr. Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “Parents are confused, and some are questioning vaccines altogether.”
The lawsuit accuses Kennedy and other political appointees at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) of violating federal procedures and sowing public confusion. The shift in vaccine policy comes as paediatric flu deaths in the US hit a 15-year high, and the country braces for what could be the worst year of measles outbreaks in over three decades.
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon responded that Secretary Kennedy “stands by his CDC reforms.”
Legal experts note that the suit’s location, Boston, is historically significant, as Massachusetts has been central to major public health milestones, including a 1905 US Supreme Court decision that upheld states’ rights to enforce mandatory vaccinations.
Attorney Richard H. Hughes IV, who is representing the plaintiffs, said the case seeks to restore public confidence in the immunisation process and reaffirm the role of scientific evidence in federal health policy.
