Leading US medical groups sue health secretary over COVID vaccine policy changes

Organizations urge parents, patients to follow vaccine guidance by qualified medical professionals, says joint statement criticizing Robert Kennedy Jr.'s moves

Merve Aydogan |07.07.2025 - TRT/AA




HAMILTON, Canada

Leading US medical organizations and a pregnant physician filed a lawsuit Monday against US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., accusing him of unlawfully overturning COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant individuals.

The lawsuit, titled American Academy of Pediatrics v. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., was filed in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts by the pediatrics group plus others including the American College of Physicians, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and an anonymous pregnant physician.

"This administration is an existential threat to vaccination in America, and those in charge are only just getting started," said Richard H. Hughes IV, lead counsel for the plaintiffs.

"If left unchecked, Secretary Kennedy will accomplish his goal of ridding the United States of vaccines, which would unleash a wave of preventable harm on our nation’s children," it added.

Dr. Susan Kressly, who heads the pediatrics group, said in the statement: "These decisions are founded in fear and not evidence, and will make our children and communities more vulnerable to infectious diseases."

Dr. Tina Tan, who heads the infectious disease group, added: "We will not stand by while a single federal official unilaterally and effectively strips Americans of their choice to vaccinate."

The plaintiffs said Kennedy’s actions bypassed scientific review and ignored federal procedures.

"The plaintiff organizations urge parents and patients to follow their qualified medical professionals' vaccine guidance," said a joint statement.

Kennedy, a longtime vaccine opponent with no background in public health, has made numerous debunked claims about the harms that vaccines cause, but since being appointed by President Donald Trump, he has overseen a series of steps that have undermined vaccine access, including cutting funding for vaccine distribution to children of lower income families, according to media reports.

Dismantling the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) committee of top health and medical experts has been Kennedy's most aggressive move so far, according to critics.

Doctors and public health organizations sue 

Kennedy over vaccine policy changes

By The Associated Press
Published: July 07, 2025 

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

NEW YORK — A coalition of doctors groups and public health organizations sued the U.S. government on Monday over the decision to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccinations for most children and pregnant women.

The American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association and four other groups — along with an unnamed pregnant doctor who works in a hospital — filed the lawsuit in federal court in Boston.

U.S. health officials, following infectious disease experts’ guidance, previously urged annual COVID-19 shots for all Americans ages 6 months and older. But in late May, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he was removing COVID-19 shots from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women.

A number of health experts decried the move as confusing and accused Kennedy of disregarding the scientific review process that has been in place for decades — in which experts publicly review current medical evidence and hash out the pros and cons of policy changes.

The new lawsuit repeats those concerns, alleging that Kennedy and other political appointees at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have flouted federal procedures and systematically attempted to mislead the public.

“This administration is an existential threat to vaccination in America, and those in charge are only just getting started,” said Richard H. Hughes IV, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs. “If left unchecked, Secretary Kennedy will accomplish his goal of ridding the United States of vaccines, which would unleash a wave of preventable harm on our nation’s children.”

HHS officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Also joining the suit are the American College of Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Massachusetts Public Health Association and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Mike Stobbe, The Associated Press