Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing a lawsuit from six major medical groups and a pregnant physician over changes he made to Covid-19 vaccine recommendations. The lawsuit argues that Kennedy’s directive, which stated that the Covid-19 vaccine would no longer be recommended for healthy children and pregnant individuals, violates established policies governing vaccine approval and recommendation in the United States.
Led by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the suit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts and includes plaintiffs such as the American College of Physicians, American Public Health Association, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Massachusetts Public Health Alliance, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and a pregnant physician working in a Massachusetts hospital. The pregnant physician, who remains unnamed, expressed concerns about barriers preventing her from receiving the Covid-19 vaccine despite her exposure to illness at work, posing a risk to her unborn child.
Kennedy’s directive, announced on May 19, was implemented without the involvement of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or the panel of vaccine experts responsible for advising federal officials on vaccine recommendations. The CDC, which currently lacks a director, was not consulted in the decision-making process.
In the weeks following the directive, Kennedy further undermined the existing vaccine approval system by dismissing and replacing members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, accusing them of bias and appointing individuals with anti-vaccine views. These actions were criticized in the lawsuit as part of a coordinated effort to spread anti-vaccine and anti-science rhetoric, causing confusion and eroding public trust in healthcare.
The plaintiffs are calling for a judge to compel Kennedy to restore the previous vaccine recommendations. The lawsuit comes in the wake of a Supreme Court decision upholding an Affordable Care Act provision related to preventive services, which affirmed the HHS secretary’s authority in overseeing expert panels evaluating preventative services.
Richard Hughes, counsel for the plaintiffs, emphasized the importance of sound science in decision-making and criticized Kennedy’s actions as arbitrary and capricious. The lawsuit seeks to hold Kennedy accountable for disregarding established processes and procedures in vaccine approval and recommendation.
Overall, the lawsuit highlights the need for transparency, adherence to scientific evidence, and maintaining public trust in healthcare decision-making processes.
