Judge allows lawsuit against RFK Jnr’s Covid-19 vaccine policies to proceed
Judge lets medical groups challenge Kennedy’s CDC vaccine changes, citing health risks to public health and unlawful panel influence
A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that several major medical organisations can move forward with their lawsuit challenging policies adopted under US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jnr that they say will lower vaccination rates.
US District Judge Brian Murphy in Boston rejected arguments by lawyers for US President Donald Trump’s administration that the groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, lack legal standing to pursue the case because they could not show they were harmed by the policies.
The lawsuit seeks to invalidate all votes cast since June by a key vaccine advisory panel whose members were hand-picked by Kennedy, who previously founded the anti-vaccine group Children’s Health Defense before becoming the head of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Kennedy has long promoted the view, contrary to scientific evidence, that many vaccines routinely administered to children cause grave harm, and public health experts have warned his efforts in government are likely to expose a growing number of youth to preventable diseases.
The medical groups’ lawsuit argues that Kennedy in May unlawfully directed the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to remove its recommendation for Covid-19 shots for pregnant women and children from its vaccination schedules.