The health secretary is making efforts to resume the activities of a panel advising the government on vaccines. A judge recently halted its decisions, preventing the panel from meeting.
Last year, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed all 17 members of a vaccine advisory committee and appointed new ones expressing skepticism toward vaccines. This occurred during a House hearing in April 2023.
On June 15, 2026, the Trump administration filed a request for an expedited appeal against a federal court ruling. This ruling blocked decisions made by Kennedy, including rescinding recommendations for immunizations against several childhood diseases.
Kennedy announced through social media that the motion aims to allow federal vaccine advisers to meet before the fall flu season to decide on recommending vaccinations.
This development is part of a lawsuit by six medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, challenging Kennedy’s changes to the childhood vaccine schedule. They argued that these changes were “arbitrary and capricious.”
The lawsuit also questioned the appointees’ qualifications to the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices. The court ruling, issued on March 16, temporarily suspended all decisions made by Kennedy’s appointees and stopped the committee from convening.
This move indicates the administration’s attempt to reactivate the committee. Last month, President Trump issued an executive order directing the C.D.C. and the committee to align U.S. childhood vaccination recommendations with those of other countries. Meanwhile, Kennedy’s office renewed the committee’s charter.
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