Overview
- U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy issued a preliminary injunction on March 16 halting the administration’s January revision that reduced recommended childhood immunizations.
- The ruling also blocks the reappointments to the federal vaccine advisory committee and pauses the panel’s decisions.
- Murphy found the changes arbitrary and inconsistent with established scientific methods and procedures, indicating likely violations of federal law.
- The shelved overhaul would have cut the schedule from 17 to 11 immunizations and removed recommendations for vaccines including rotavirus, influenza, hepatitis A and B, COVID, RSV, and certain meningococcal formulations.
- Pediatric groups praised the decision, while the Health Department said it expects to prevail on appeal, as experts warn that weaker guidance could fuel disease resurgence after a year with more than 1,400 U.S. measles cases.