Lawsuit Challenges New CDC Vaccine Schedule, RFK Jr. Panel

The plaintiffs say the updated schedule will lead to more serious illnesses and death.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a press conference in Arlington, Va., on Dec. 8, 2025. Heather Diehl/Getty Images

The American Academy of Pediatrics and other groups on Jan. 19 filed a new lawsuit against Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other officials, seeking to reverse the recent update to the childhood vaccine schedule and stop an upcoming meeting of advisers that Kennedy selected.

Plaintiffs say that officials failed to examine relevant data and outline satisfactory explanations for updating the schedule and revamping the advisory panel, which should prompt a federal court to declare the decisions illegal.

The move to change several vaccines from routinely recommended for children to only recommended after consulting with doctors “should be set aside, enjoined, and declared unlawful because Defendants failed to consider important factors such as whether the changes to the Childhood Schedule would lead to increases in serious illness and death due to vaccine-preventable illnesses, or increased burden on the American healthcare system, or increased financial burden on American families,” the complaint states.

The groups, which are joined by an unidentified doctor and two mothers, are also challenging Kennedy’s 2025 removal of all members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the CDC on vaccines, and subsequent naming of new members.

Federal law requires advisory committees to be fairly balanced and not “inappropriately influenced by the appointing authority.” Many new members have made statements that align with Kennedy’s views on vaccines, including one who said in 2025 that there are “too many vaccines,” the plaintiffs say.

The Department of Health and Human Services, Kennedy’s agency and the CDC’s parent agency, has said it does not comment on litigation.

The CDC on Jan. 5 narrowed the number of vaccines recommended for all children, following a directive from President Donald Trump to study vaccine practices in peer nations and update the U.S. recommendations based on the results of the review.

Officials said they were scaling back recommendations for vaccines against some diseases, such as rotavirus, in part because they were not routinely recommended by many other similar countries.

“After an exhaustive review of the evidence, we are aligning the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with international consensus while strengthening transparency and informed consent,” Kennedy said in a Jan. 5 statement. “This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health.”

A health care worker administers an influenza vaccine in Coral Gables, Fla., on Sept. 15, 2025. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In 2025, the American Academy of Pediatrics, which partners with vaccine manufacturers, and other organizations sued after Kennedy ordered the CDC to stop recommending COVID-19 vaccination for healthy children and pregnant women. The litigation has already been updated three times to cover more recent actions.

The plaintiffs on Jan. 19 asked the federal judge in Massachusetts overseeing the case to allow it to proceed with the fourth amended filing.

The defendants oppose another amended filing. The court is expected to approve the request.