AAP, other medical societies sue HHS, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine practices

AAP, other medical societies sue HHS, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine advices | Image Credit: © Rafael Henrique - © Rafael Henrique - stock.adobe.com.

Multiple medical societies, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), are suing the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in an effort to defend vaccine policy, the societies stated, amid recent changes to COVID-19 vaccine recommendations and the removal of members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Vaccine Practices (ACIP).¹

The AAP, American College of Physicians (ACP), American Public Health Association (APHA), Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), Massachusetts Public Health Alliance (MPHA), Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), and a pregnant physician announced the suit via a joint press release on July 7, 2025.

In the announcement, the joint societies reference the CDC's May 27, 2025, pulling of its recommendation for routine COVID-19 vaccination among healthy individuals and pregnant women. Kennedy Jr. took to the social media platform X to announce that he "couldn't be more pleased to announce that, as of today, the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule."²

READ MORE: CDC pulls COVID-19 vaccine recommendation for healthy children, pregnant individuals

Additionally, the medical societies referenced the firing of 17 ACIP board members, who were replaced Kennedy-appointed personnel "who have historically espoused anti-vaccine viewpoints," according to the joint press release.¹

The lawsuit charges that a coordinated set of actions by the HHS and Kennedy were "designed to mislead, confuse, and gradually desensitize the public to anti-vaccine and anti-science rhetoric, and that he has routinely flouted federal procedural rules," the collective societies wrote in the announcement.

Several plaintiffs provided quotes related to the decision to sue HHS and Kennedy Jr., including Sue Kressly, MD, FAAP, president of the AAP, who stated:
"The [AAP] is alarmed by recent decisions by HHS to alter the routine childhood immunization schedule. These decisions are founded in fear and not evidence, and will make our children and communities more vulnerable to infectious diseases like measles, whooping cough, and influenza. Our immunization system has long been a cornerstone of U.S. public health, but actions by the current administration are jeopardizing its success. As we pursue action to restore science to U.S. vaccination policy, AAP will continue to provide the science-based, trusted recommendations that every American deserves.”

Contemporary Pediatrics' Editor-in-Chief, Tina Tan, MD, FIDSA, FPIDS, FAAP, who is also the Infectious Diseases Society of America's president, added:
"The [IDSA] will fight to ensure that all individuals of every age have access to life-saving vaccines. We will not stand by while a single federal official unilaterally and effectively strips Americans of their choice to vaccinate with actions that thoroughly disregard overwhelming scientific evidence and decades of established federal processes. As a community of clinicians, public health officials, and scientists, our focus remains the protection of patients and public health.”

References:

1. AAP, ACP, APHA, IDSA, MPHA, and SMFM Join Together to Stop Assault on Public Health. Press release. July 7, 2025. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/acip-updates-committee-votes-5-2-to-recommend-clesrovimab-to-protect-against-rsv

2. Fitch J. ACIP updates: Committee recommends clesrovimab for RSV, reaffirms routine influenza vaccination. Contemporary Pediatrics. June 26, 2025. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/acip-updates-committee-votes-5-2-to-recommend-clesrovimab-to-protect-against-rsv