Federal judge blocks RFK Jr’s overhaul of vaccine recommendations
Unprecedented changes to routine US immunization recommendations ‘arbitrary and capricious’, court says
TL;DR
- A federal judge has stayed all votes taken by the advisory committee on immunization practices (ACIP) over the past year.
- The judge ruled that the appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s hand-picked vaccine advisers likely violated federal law.
- The court found that unprecedented changes to US immunization recommendations in January were 'arbitrary and capricious' and have been blocked.
- The upcoming ACIP meeting has been postponed due to the invalidation of its membership.
- Votes invalidated include decisions on thimerosal in flu vaccines, the MMR/chickenpox vaccine recommendation, and the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose.
- The Department of Health and Human Services plans to appeal the decision.