RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine changes to CDC vaccine guidance blocked by judge

“This is all to say that there is a method to how these decisions historically have been made—a method scientific in nature and codified into law through procedural requirements,” Judge Murphy wrote.

“Unfortunately, the Government has disregarded those methods and thereby undermined the integrity of its actions,” he wrote. “First, the Government bypassed ACIP to change the immunization schedules, which is both a technical, procedural failure itself and a strong indication of something more fundamentally problematic: an abandonment of the technical knowledge and expertise embodied by that committee. Second, the Government removed all duly appointed members of ACIP and summarily replaced them without undertaking any of the rigorous screening that had been the hallmark of ACIP member selection for decades. Again, this procedural failure highlights the very reasons why procedures exist and raises a substantial likelihood that the newly appointed ACIP fails to comport with governing law.”

Rebuke of ACIP members

The judge also blasted the firing of past ACIP members, the apparent lack of vetting for new members, and the lack of qualifications of the members, naming names.

“First, of the fifteen members currently on ACIP, even under the most generous reading, only six appear to have any meaningful experience in vaccines—the very focus of ACIP,” he wrote (emphasis his).

“At least six ACIP members—Dr. Hillary Blackburn, Dr. Evelyn Griffin, Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, Dr. Kirk Milhoan, Dr. James Pagano, Dr. Raymond Pollak—appear to lack any expertise or professional qualifications related to vaccines or immunization as required by ACIP’s Charter,” he wrote. “An additional three of the current ACIP members—Dr. Retsef Levi, Dr. Robert Malone, and Dr. Catherine Stein—though they have some experience arguably relevant to ACIP’s function, appear to lack the qualifications and experience to constitute expertise in vaccines and immunization.”

In all, Judge Murphy argued that Kennedy’s hand-selected advisors fail to meet the requirements of ACIP’s charter, which states members must be knowledgeable in relevant fields. They also fail to meet federal regulations requiring advisory boards to be “fairly balanced” in representing the views within those relevant fields.