Judge Blocks Kennedy's Vaccine Panel Overhaul and Cuts to the Childhood Immunization Schedule

On March 16, 2026, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston blocked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s reduction of federally recommended childhood vaccinations and stayed his replacement of the entire Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, including the 13 members appointed since June 2025. The ruling also reached committee recommendations issued under the new membership, among them the recommendation against universal hepatitis B vaccination for newborns, and forced the postponement of a meeting scheduled for that week. The plaintiffs were the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical organizations. Murphy found the department had made arbitrary and capricious decisions, writing that the government had disregarded established methods and thereby undermined the integrity of its actions.

ACIP recommendations determine which vaccines insurers must cover without cost sharing and what the Vaccines for Children program supplies, so the composition of the committee has direct effects on access. The ruling turns on whether the secretary followed the procedures governing federal advisory committees.

An HHS spokesman said the department expected the decision to be overturned on appeal.