States Sue Over CDC Shift on Childhood Vaccinations

More than a dozen states sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over its rollback of vaccine recommendations for children, calling the move an illegal threat to public health. The states argue that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put children's lives at risk when it announced last month that it would stop recommending all children be immunized against the flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis, and RSV, the AP reports. Under the new guidance, which was met with criticism from medical experts, protections against those diseases are recommended only for certain groups deemed high risk or when doctors recommend them in what's called "shared decision-making."

The new vaccine recommendations ignore long-standing medical guidance and will mean states have to spend more to protect against outbreaks, the states, including California, said. States, not the federal government, have the authority to require vaccinations for schoolchildren, though the CDC's requirements typically influence state regulations. "The health and safety of children across the country is not a political issue," Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, said at a news conference. "It is not a culture war talking point." Emily G. Hilliard, press secretary for the Department of Health and Human Services, blasted the complaint as a "publicity stunt dressed up as a lawsuit."

The lawsuit escalates an ongoing battle between Democratic-led states and Republican President Trump's administration over the federal government's changes to public health policy under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The Trump administration has laid off thousands of workers at federal public health agencies, cut funding for scientific research, and altered government guidance on fluoride and other topics. Kennedy last year ousted every member of a vaccine advisory committee and replaced them with his own picks, which Tuesday's complaint says was unlawful. The Democratic governors of California, Washington state, and Oregon have launched an alliance to establish their own vaccine recommendations. The governors said the Trump administration was risking people's health by politicizing the CDC.