REGULATORY · MARKET STRUCTURE · USA
Judge stays RFK Jr. appointees and invalidates ACIP votes
Change
A federal judge stayed 13 of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s appointments to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and invalidated all votes taken by the committee over the past year.
Why it matters
Judge Brian E. Murphy found the June firing and replacement of ACIP members likely violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The court stayed 13 appointments, invalidating those advisers' roles on the committee. All votes cast by the invalidated advisers over the past year were set aside. The court blocked January changes to the routine US immunization schedule that altered one-third of the schedule and described those changes as "arbitrary and capricious." An HHS official stated the ACIP meeting scheduled later this week has been postponed because the membership has been invalidated.
Implications
- • ACIP cannot convene or act with the stayed membership, and its upcoming meeting was postponed.
- • Votes cast by the invalidated advisers over the past year are set aside, including the decision to ban thimerosal from flu vaccines.
- • January changes that altered one-third of the routine immunization schedule are blocked and have no legal effect.
Who is affected
- • Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices members
- • Department of Health and Human Services officials
- • Public health program managers responsible for vaccine schedules
- • Pediatric healthcare providers
Source
Topics
World & Politics Governance Law & Public Safety Regulatory Actions Health & Medicine Public Health