15 States Sue RFK Jr.'s HHS to Reverse Cuts to the Childhood Vaccine Schedule

Fourteen state attorneys general and the governor of Pennsylvania sued the Department of Health and Human Services in late February 2026 over changes to federal childhood immunization policy. The suit challenges the CDC's January 2026 reduction of universally recommended childhood vaccines from 17 shots to 11, and the replacement of every member of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices with appointees the plaintiffs describe as vaccine-skeptical. Named defendants include HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC and acting NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya. Affected recommendations include delaying hepatitis B vaccination for newborns and weakening support for MMR and MMRV and for COVID-19 vaccination of healthy children and pregnant women.

ACIP recommendations shape what insurers cover and what the Vaccines for Children program supplies, so a schedule change carries financial and access consequences beyond its advisory character.

The states allege the changes will reduce vaccine uptake and increase rates of vaccine-preventable disease, and that the reconstitution of ACIP was unlawful. They ask the court to rescind the new schedule and vacate the committee. The case was pending at filing.