By Jen Christensen, John Bonifield, CNN
(CNN) — Seven prominent medical associations on Monday sued to reverse changes to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s childhood vaccine recommendations.
The lawsuit was brought by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, the American Public Health Association, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Massachusetts Public Health Association, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Earlier this month, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced changes to the vaccine schedule for American children that narrowed recommendations for vaccinations against meningococcal disease, hepatitis B and hepatitis A to people at higher risk for infections. The updated CDC schedule also recommends that decisions on vaccinations against flu, Covid-19 and rotavirus be based on “shared clinical decision-making,” which means people who want one must consult with a health care provider. HHS said that all insurers will still cover these vaccines.
When there were previous changes to the government’s vaccine recommendations, new evidence published in the scientific literature or presented by vaccine makers would be evaluated by the CDC’s vaccine advisers, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP.
But that wasn’t the case with the latest changes; no new evidence was brought to the committee to challenge the safety or effectiveness of the recommended vaccines. Rather, the decision was made in the wake of an order from President Donald Trump to HHS to review the US childhood vaccination schedule along with those of other developed nations. The new US vaccine schedule resembles the schedule in Denmark.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in US District Court in Massachusetts, calls the overhaul of the vaccine schedule “egregious, reckless, and dangerous” and says it should be declared unlawful.
“Defendants failed to consider important factors such as whether the changes to the Childhood Schedule would lead to increases in serious illness and death due to vaccine-preventable illnesses, or increased burden on the American healthcare system, or increased financial burden on American families,” the complaint reads.
In a statement last week, Dr. Andrew Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said children’s health depends on vaccine recommendations based on rigorous, transparent science.
“Unfortunately, recent decisions by federal officials have abandoned this standard, causing unnecessary confusion for families, compromising access to lifesaving vaccines and weakening community protection,” Racine said.
The medical groups are requesting the courts restore the vaccine schedule to where it was on April 15, 2025, before any changes were made by HHS under Kennedy.
They’re also requesting to stop the current ACIP panel from meeting, including blocking them from meeting as scheduled in February. The groups say the panel relies on “spurious evidence” to make its recommendations, and they are seeking to replace the members, saying Kennedy appointed advisers who lack the required experience and credentials.
“AAP continues with their attempts to hinder this Administration’s work through procedural and legal challenges while trying to preserve a broken status quo,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement last week. “ACIP continues to operate lawfully and transparently, and its next meeting is scheduled to proceed in February.”
Kennedy removed all the previous ACIP members last year and replaced them with his own picks, many of whom share his skepticism of vaccines. He also ousted the CDC director, who typically signs off on the agency’s vaccine recommendations.
Kennedy appointed two more members to the vaccine panel earlier this month. One of them, Dr. Kimberly Biss, an obstetrician/gynecologist, has described herself as “anti-vaccine.” The other, Dr. Adam Urato, also an ob/gyn, has said on social media that “the science is not ‘long-settled’ regarding vaccines.”
When Kennedy’s newly reconstituted ACIP met last year, members voted to weaken recommendations for universal hepatitis B vaccination for newborns and to stop recommending certain flu vaccines that have thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative that has been falsely linked to autism. The committee has said it will continue to reassess even long-established vaccine data.
The complaint filed by the medical groups Monday is part of a larger lawsuit against HHS over ACIP and its changes to Covid-19 vaccine recommendations. HHS has made a motion to dismiss the suit, but Judge Brian Murphy rejected the request earlier this month.
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