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FEDERAL JUDGE BLOCKS SLASHING OF CHILDHOOD IMMUNIZATION SCHEDULE; HHS MOVES TO APPEAL
By OPEN CHRONICLE STAFF with Agencies
BOSTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts dealt a major blow to the Trump administration’s public health agenda on Monday, blocking Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s sweeping efforts to reduce the number of federally recommended vaccines for children. The ruling marks a significant legal victory for the medical community and effectively restores the nation’s immunization standards to their pre-2026 levels for the duration of the litigation.
In a scathing 45-page opinion, U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy issued a preliminary injunction against the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), citing a “disregard for scientific methods” and a likely violation of federal procedural law.
🚨 JUST IN — JUDICIAL COUP: Biden activist Judge Brian Murphy just STRUCK DOWN Health Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s move to recommend fewer vaccines for young children
The judge also unilaterally struck down Kennedy deciding who serves on the Advisory Committee on Immunization… pic.twitter.com/x9rdEvlrRs
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 16, 2026
A “Technical and Procedural Failure”
The court’s decision targets a January directive from Secretary Kennedy that slashed the number of routinely recommended childhood vaccinations from 17 down to 11. Under that directive, vaccines for diseases such as rotavirus, influenza, and hepatitis A were downgraded from “routine” to “shared clinical decision-making,” a move pediatricians warned would lead to a resurgence of preventable illnesses.
Judge Murphy ruled that the administration likely violated the Administrative Procedure Act by bypassing established protocols. “The government bypassed the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to change the immunization schedules,” Murphy wrote. “This is a technical, procedural failure… and a strong indication of an abandonment of technical knowledge and expertise.”
Advisory Committee Dissolved
Beyond the vaccine schedule itself, the ruling also paralyzed the very body meant to oversee it. Last year, Secretary Kennedy took the unprecedented step of firing all 17 independent experts on the ACIP, replacing them with a handpicked panel that included several prominent vaccine skeptics.
Judge Murphy found that the reconstitution of the committee was likely unlawful, noting that only six of the 15 new members possessed “meaningful experience” in the field of vaccinology. As a result, the judge stayed the appointments of Kennedy’s new members and nullified all votes taken by the panel since its overhaul—including a controversial decision to drop the universal recommendation for newborn hepatitis B vaccinations.
“ACIP as currently constituted cannot meet,” the judge declared. “For how can a committee meet without nearly the entirety of its membership?”
Medical Groups Applaud Ruling
The lawsuit was spearheaded by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and five other major medical organizations. Following the verdict, Dr. Andrew Racine, president of the AAP, called the ruling a “historic outcome for children.”
“This decision effectively means that a science-based process for developing immunization recommendations is not to be trifled with,” Racine said. “It is a critical step toward restoring scientific decision-making to federal policy.”
Health officials in 30 states had already signaled their intent to ignore the Kennedy-led schedule, but the court’s order provides a definitive legal shield for doctors and insurance providers to continue following the previous, more comprehensive guidelines.
Washington Vows to Fight On
The Trump administration was quick to condemn the ruling. HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon described the decision as an attempt by a “Biden appointee” to obstruct the administration’s mandate to govern.
“The health secretary has broad authority to address the decline in public trust,” Nixon said. “HHS looks forward to this judge’s decision being overturned just like his other attempts to keep the Trump administration from governing.”
As the Department of Justice prepares its appeal, the immediate impact is a logistical freeze: a two-day ACIP meeting scheduled to begin Wednesday in Atlanta has been indefinitely postponed. For now, the “Make America Healthy Again” movement’s assault on the vaccine schedule remains stalled at the courthouse door.