Doctors and public health organizations sue Kennedy over vaccine policy
change
[July 08, 2025]
By MIKE STOBBE
NEW YORK (AP) — 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 had 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.
Many 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.
The lawsuit also notes recent changes to the Advisory Committee on
Immunization Practices. Kennedy, a leading antivaccine activist before
becoming the nation’s top health official, fired the entire 17-member
panel this month and replaced it with a group that includes several
anti-vaccine voices.
Doctors say Kennedy's actions are making their jobs harder — with some
patients raising doubts about all kinds of vaccines and others worried
they will lose access to shots for themselves and their children.
"This is causing uncertainty and anxiety at almost every pediatric visit
that involves vaccines," said Dr. Susan Kressly, president of the
American Academy of Pediatrics.
And it's happening after U.S. pediatric flu deaths hit their highest
mark in 15 years and as the nation is poised to have its worst year of
measles in more than three decades, she added.
HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said Kennedy "stands by his CDC reforms.”
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., speaks before Republican presidential nominee
former President Donald Trump at a campaign event Nov. 1, 2024, in
Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
 Also joining the suit are the
American College of Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of
America, the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance and the Society
for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
The pregnant doctor, who is listed in the lawsuit as “Jane Doe,”
works at a Massachusetts hospital. She wants a COVID-19 booster to
protect her unborn child and argues Kennedy's decision is making it
harder to get the shot, according to the lawsuit.
In a press call, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs said the woman
had difficulty getting a COVID-19 vaccination at a pharmacy and
other sites, but issued a correction later in the day to say has not
yet tried to get the shot.
The suit was filed in Boston because the unnamed doctor and some
others in Massachusetts are among those have been affected by
Kennedy's change, attorney Richard H. Hughes IV said.
The state has figured repeatedly in U.S. public health history.
In 1721, some Boston leaders advocated for an early version of
inoculation during a smallpox outbreak. Paul Revere was the first
leader of Boston's health commission. And a legal dispute in
Cambridge led to a landmark 1905 U.S. Supreme Court decision that
upheld states' rights to compel vaccinations.
“We think it is significant and very meaningful” that the case is
happening there, Hughes said.
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