Federal judge temporarily blocks RFK Jr.’s efforts to change vaccine policies

BOSTON — A federal judge’s ruling has effectively halted U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts to overhaul vaccine policies. 

District Judge Brian Murphy of Boston ruled Monday in favor of the American Academy of Pediatrics, or AAP, which filed the lawsuit with other medical groups. The ruling is not final but places a temporary legal hold on the efforts.  

The lawsuit alleges that members of the Trump administration unlawfully disregarded scientific methods and undermined practices accepted by law when proposing changes to vaccine policies. That includes a controversial move to change recommended vaccination schedules for children. 

The complaint focused on five key concerns by the plaintiffs: 

• Kennedy’s order in May 2025 directing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending that pregnant women and “healthy” children receive the COVID vaccine. 
• Kennedy’s termination of all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, in June 2025, then appointing new members in the following months. 
• Kennedy’s alleged attempts to undermine the American Academy of Pediatrics’ published immunization schedules in a social media post, also in June of 2025. 
• The Kennedy-appointed ACIP’s decisions to change official vaccine recommendations, which were voted on by the new cohort three times. 
• An HHS memo issued in January 2026 announcing the revised childhood immunization schedule, which, among other changes, reduced the number of recommended childhood vaccinations from 17 to 11, limited the recommendations for several vaccinations for only “high-risk groups,” and downgraded designations for others.

The judge issued a preliminary injunction to stay Kennedy’s ACIP appointments, as well as all of their votes. Murphy also stayed the revised vaccination schedules. The decision was widely celebrated by established medical groups among the plaintiffs.  

“Today’s ruling marks an important step toward restoring scientific decision-making that is at the heart of that partnership,” AAP President Dr. Andrew Racine said in a joint statement. 

“This injunction underscores the need for using science in public health decision-making and using a process that engages qualified experts when it comes to recommending interventions that impact human health,” American Public Health Association CEO Georges Benjamin said. “Trust occurs when we engage the public in a transparent process, not one where decisions are made behind closed doors by unqualified individuals and presented in a disingenuous way.” 

Trump administration officials have since expressed plans to appeal the decision. 

“HHS looks forward to this judge’s decision being overturned just like his other attempts to keep the Trump administration from governing,” Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Andrew Nixon said in a statement.