Medical groups sue to overturn Kennedy-led changes to childhood vaccine schedule

Six leading medical organizations plan to ask a court to throw out revisions to the childhood vaccination schedule announced last week by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other federal officials. Mr. Kennedy and his appointees reduced the number of diseases covered under routine childhood immunization recommendations to 11 from 17, recommending that vaccines against six diseases — including hepatitis A and B, rotavirus and the flu — be given to most children only after consultation with a health care provider.

The groups say the changes are not based on scientific evidence and will be harmful to the public. The plaintiffs include the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American College of Physicians, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance.

They also intend to ask the courts to block a late February meeting of federal vaccine advisers handpicked by Mr. Kennedy. "These organizations continue with their attempts to hinder this administration’s work through procedural and legal challenges," said Andrew Nixon, a spokesman for the Health and Human Services Department.

A federal court in western Massachusetts has set Feb. 13 as the date for an initial hearing on the lawsuit.

Key Topics

Health, Robert Kennedy Jr, Cdc, Apha, Aap, Idsa