The Trump administration has filed an appeal against a court order that blocked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr's decision to reduce the number of vaccines recommended for all children in the United States. The appeal, submitted on Wednesday, came six weeks after a March 16 ruling by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy.
Judge Murphy's order halted Kennedy's move to end broad recommendations for childhood vaccines against flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A and B, certain forms of meningitis, and RSV. It also paused a meeting of a vaccine advisory committee appointed by Kennedy. The government's one-sentence filing did not provide reasons for seeking to lift the block, and health officials declined immediate comment.
The appeal is the latest development in a lawsuit filed in July by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups. The suit initially challenged Kennedy's decision to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccines for most children and pregnant women, but was later expanded to address other policy changes, including the scaling back of the childhood vaccination schedule and Kennedy's overhaul of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
Kennedy, a prominent anti-vaccine activist before becoming health secretary, fired the entire 17-member ACIP panel last year and replaced it with members including several anti-vaccine voices. Judge Murphy ruled that this likely violated federal law and ordered the appointments and all committee decisions put on hold.
Earlier this month, the administration updated ACIP's charter to broaden qualifications for panel members, potentially allowing Kennedy allies to serve. However, Richard Hughes IV, a lawyer for the pediatrics group, said this did not resolve the legal challenge. Hughes expressed disappointment at the appeal but said he expected to prevail, vowing to end Kennedy's 'steady destruction of vaccine policy and public health.'
