A federal judge has blocked Robert F Kennedy Jr's overhaul of the US vaccine advisory committee, ruling that the appointment of controversial members likely violated federal law. Judge Brian E Murphy also stayed all votes taken by the committee over the past year, including changes to routine immunisation recommendations.
The ruling came in response to a lawsuit by the American Academy of Pediatrics against the Department of Health and Human Services. The judge found that Kennedy's firing of all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in June and replacing them with hand-picked advisers, many with anti-vaccine views, likely breached the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
The court also deemed the unprecedented changes to the US immunisation schedule in January as 'arbitrary and capricious'. These changes, which altered one-third of the schedule, have been blocked. Votes invalidated include bans on thimerosal in flu vaccines, ending the recommendation for the combined MMR and chickenpox vaccine, and removing the universal birth dose for hepatitis B.
An HHS spokesperson said the department looks forward to the decision being overturned. Vaccine law expert Dorit Reiss noted that reversing the January changes would improve vaccine access in states that rely on ACIP recommendations. The ACIP's planned meeting this week, focusing on long-term effects after Covid vaccination, has been postponed.
