CDC's full, science-based schedule of recommended routine child vaccinations was reinstated in March by a federal judge.
Photo by Jacob Wackerhausen, courtesy iStockphoto
In a major win for U.S. public health and science, a federal judge blocked the Trump administration's truncated child vaccine schedule, citing a lack of scientific review.
On March 16, Judge Brian Murphy, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, temporarily halted the new federal schedule for routine childhood vaccines following a lawsuit filed by APHA and partners.
In January, the Trump administration cut the vaccine schedule by a third. Despite sound science showing the benefits of hepatitis A, hepatitis B, RSV, meningitis, rotavirus and influenza vaccines, all were removed from the schedule.
The lawsuit, led by the American Academy of Pediatrics, was originally filed last summer in response to HHS' removal of the COVID-19 vaccine from the schedule and was amended to include subsequent changes.
APHA and partners filed a preliminary injunction in January to halt the revised vaccine schedule and bar the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices from meeting to discuss public health matters. The lawsuit argued that the committee relied on misinformation and speculation when making vaccine decisions.
“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,” Georges Benjamin, MD, CEO of APHA, 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.”
While ACIP, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was long considered scientifically qualified to make immunization recommendations, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, fired respected vetted members of the committee last year, then hand-picked replacements. Judge Murphy said of Kennedy's picks that only six of 15 “appear to have any meaningful experience in vaccines — the very focus of ACIP.”
APHA has been steadfast in speaking out for public health during the Trump administration. The Association has not only challenged decisions that were not based on science, but also has repeatedly called for Kennedy's removal from office.
“Mr. Kennedy's tenure can best be described as chaotic,” Benjamin said in February. “Broken promises, administrative incompetence, professional neglect — this puts the public's health at extraordinary risk. People are sicker and are dying sooner because of his policies.”
For more information on APHA's defense of public health science, visit www.apha.org/under-threat.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
