Six major medical groups—and a pregnant woman—are taking health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to court, alleging that recent moves to restrict vaccines put public health at risk, reports the Washington Post. In particular, the lawsuit aims to reverse the decision to drop COVID vaccines from the list of recommended shots for children and pregnant women.
- Plaintiffs: The medical groups suing are the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American College of Physicians, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance. An unnamed pregnant woman identified as Jane Doe also joined the suit because she was unable to get a COVID shot, per the New York Times.
"The secretary's intentions are clear," Richard H. Hughes IV, a lawyer who teaches vaccine law at George Washington University, tells the Times. "He aims to destroy vaccines." The lawsuit points out Kennedy's longtime skepticism toward vaccines, noting that he replaced all 17 experts on the CDC's vaccine advisory panel with new members, many of whom are openly skeptical of vaccines. Neither Kennedy nor the department of Health and Human Services has responded to the suit.
In May, Kennedy announced the CDC would stop recommending COVID vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women, a decision critics say sidesteps both expert advice and concerns about pregnant people's vulnerability to the virus. Medical leaders argue that the changes were made without consulting CDC staff or independent experts, and that officials have disregarded input from professional organizations.
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