Judge blocks parts of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s vaccine policy changes
A Massachusetts federal judge blocked parts of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s reshaping of federal vaccine policy in a March 16 ruling.
District Judge Brian Murphy ruled in favor of the American Academy of Pediatrics, along with other medical groups, which accused the Trump administration of acting unlawfully to carry out what they called Kennedy's agenda of upending immunization policies.
Murphy wrote that for decades, the United States had focused on the eradication and reduction of diseases by using vaccines. He said that under Kennedy, the government "has disregarded those methods and thereby undermined the integrity of its actions."
The Trump administration's actions around vaccination have been admonished by major medical institutions and public health experts, with some warning that more Americans, including children, may die from preventable diseases as a result. Kennedy has said the vaccines will remain available to anyone who wants them, and supporters have praised what they say is a move toward a more individual rights-based approach to public health.
The judge also blocked Kennedy's 13 appointees to a key vaccine advisory panel from continuing to serve in their positions ahead of a meeting scheduled from March 18 to March 19.
Kennedy had fired all 17 original members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, the committee of health experts that guides vaccine use for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, replacing them with members whom critics have called unqualified. Some of the members, like Kennedy, have a history of anti-vaccine advocacy and involvement in anti-vaccine groups.
HHS confirmed to USA TODAY that the ACIP meeting has been postponed.
Vaccine votes ruled invalid
Murphy said that because it was unlawfully constituted, the earlier panel's votes to downgrade recommendations for hepatitis B vaccines for newborns and COVID-19 shots broadly were also invalid.
In May 2025, Kennedy announced that the COVID-19 vaccine would no longer be included in the CDC's recommended immunization schedule for healthy children and pregnant women, a move breaking with expert guidance.
This drew the ire of the American Academy of Pediatrics, which went as far as to release its own schedule in August 2025, saying the federal process was no longer credible.
It is recommended that all children 6 months to 23 months old receive the latest COVID-19 vaccine to reduce the chance of serious illness. Children and adolescents ages 2 to 18, without other high-risk factors like immunosuppression, can receive and should be offered the vaccine if they were not immunized before, according to the guidance.
In a response posted to social media, Kennedy hit back at the pediatrics academy's criticism, implying that the organization's views were influenced by corporate pharmaceutical funders.
Kennedy has led several changes to U.S. vaccine schedules and recommendations, including removing four from the childhood list and splitting the MMR vaccine ‒ a combination shot protecting against measles, mumps, and rubella ‒ into two separate vaccines. Kennedy, with President Donald Trump's backing, said cutting the number of vaccinations aligns the United States with other developed nations.
The updated recommendations maintain immunizations for 11 diseases, including measles, mumps, and varicella, while categorizing others as either targeted for high-risk groups or subject to parents' discretion with their doctors, the HHS said.
"This is a significant victory for public health, evidence-based medicine, the rule of law, and the American people," Richard Hughes, a lawyer for the medical groups, said in a statement. "The government may appeal this decision, and we have much more work to do to achieve a full victory on the merits. But for now, we get to celebrate a rare bit of good news."
Judge has issued other high-profile blocks
Murphy has earned the wrath of the Trump administration and the president for repeatedly blocking their initiatives, including core parts of Trump's hardline immigration policy.
“HHS looks forward to this judge’s decision being overturned just like his other attempts to keep the Trump administration from governing,” HHS Spokesman Andrew Nixon said in a statement to USA TODAY.
In another case brought against the Trump administration, Murphy issued and enforced a court order to restrict the administration's efforts to deport migrants of other nationalities to countries such as South Sudan, Libya, and El Salvador.
Trump derided Murphy as "out of control," and White House adviser Stephen Miller called the judge a "lunatic." At the administration's urging, the Supreme Court intervened twice in early stages of the case, lifting Murphy's injunction and clearing the way for the deportation of several men to South Sudan.
Murphy ruled against the "third country" deportation policy again on Feb. 25 in a final ruling. A federal appeals court paused that order while the government pursues its appeal on the same day as Murphy's ruling against Kennedy. The administration has said it is prepared to take the case to the Supreme Court again.
The judge has also issued rulings against the Pentagon on research funding, temporary deportation protections covering more than 5,000 Ethiopians, and allowed offshore wind projects to continue over administration objections
Contributing: Reuters