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A United States federal judge, Brian Murphy, has blocked the implementation of sweeping vaccine policy changes introduced by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., dealing a setback to the Trump administration.
The ruling, delivered on Monday by a federal court in Massachusetts, halted the rollout of the new policies and also suspended recommendations issued by an immunisation advisory panel selected by Kennedy.
Several major medical organisations, including the American Academy of Paediatrics and the American College of Physicians, challenged the policy changes in court.
In his ruling, Judge Brian Murphy agreed with their argument that the decisions were made without following established procedures.
The judge said the traditional process for determining vaccine recommendations is grounded in scientific evaluation and formal legal procedures, adding that the government had failed to adhere to those standards. He said ignoring these established methods had undermined the credibility of the policy changes.
“There is a method to how these decisions historically have been made, a method scientific in nature and codified into law through procedural requirements,” the judge wrote.
“Unfortunately, the government has disregarded those methods and thereby undermined the integrity of its actions.”
Over the past year, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Kennedy had proposed significant revisions to the country’s pediatric vaccination schedule, including reducing the number of routinely recommended shots for diseases such as influenza and hepatitis A.
The changes also included tighter recommendations for Covid vaccines.
Kennedy also reconstituted the Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices (ACIP), appointing members whose views on vaccines have drawn criticism from many medical experts.
Responding to the ruling, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said the department expects the decision to be overturned.
An HHS official also indicated that a two-day meeting of the ACIP committee scheduled for later in the week had been postponed.
The American Academy of Pediatrics welcomed the ruling, describing it as an important decision. The group said the policy changes had created confusion among parents and paediatricians and stressed that vaccine recommendations should remain guided by scientific evidence.
“This decision effectively means that a science-based process for developing immunisation recommendations is not to be trifled with and represents a critical step to restoring scientific decision-making to federal vaccine policy that has kept children healthy for years.”
The legal dispute is expected to continue, as the government is likely to appeal the decision, potentially leading to a prolonged court battle between federal authorities and major medical organisations over who ultimately determines national immunisation policy.
