A federal judge has blocked controversial changes to US vaccine recommendations and invalidated the appointment of new advisers to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) by Robert F Kennedy Jr, ruling that the actions likely violated federal law.
Judge Brian E Murphy found that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) acted in an 'arbitrary and capricious' manner when it unilaterally altered one-third of the routine immunisation schedule in January. The changes, which included ending recommendations for the combined MMR and chickenpox vaccine and the universal birth dose of hepatitis B vaccine, have been stayed.
The judge also ruled that Kennedy's dismissal of all 17 ACIP members in June and their replacement with appointees, some of whom hold anti-vaccine views, likely breached the Federal Advisory Committee Act. All votes taken by the new panel, including a ban on thimerosal in flu vaccines, have been invalidated.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, which brought the lawsuit, hailed the decision as a 'major victory'. An HHS spokesperson said the department would appeal, calling the ruling an attempt to prevent the Trump administration from governing.
The ACIP meeting scheduled for this week has been postponed. A leaked memo indicated the panel planned to focus on purported long-term effects of Covid vaccination. Robert Malone, the committee's co-chair, criticised the leak, warning of 'unintended consequences'.
