Medical Societies Sue HHS and Secretary Kennedy Over COVID-19 Vaccine Policy Changes

On July 7, 2025, 6 major medical and public health organizations along with a pregnant physician filed a federal lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts against the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The plaintiffs allege that Kennedy acted unlawfully when he unilaterally rescinded COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for children and pregnant individuals. The lawsuit also challenges the dismissal of 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), who were replaced with individuals previously aligned with antivaccine positions.

The lawsuit seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction to reverse the rescission of vaccine recommendations and a declaratory judgment that the actions were unlawful.

Plaintiff organizations include:

• American Academy of Pediatrics
• American College of Physicians
• American Public Health Association
• Infectious Diseases Society of America
• Massachusetts Public Health Alliance
• Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine

The individual plaintiff, a pregnant hospital-based physician, is unable to receive a COVID-19 vaccine booster due to the current federal directive.

“This administration is an existential threat to vaccination in America, and those in charge are only just getting started. If left unchecked, Secretary Kennedy will accomplish his goal of ridding the United States of vaccines, which would unleash a wave of preventable harm on our nation’s children,” said Richard H. Hughes IV, partner at Epstein Becker Green and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, in the press release. “The professional associations for pediatricians, internal medicine physicians, infectious disease physicians, high-risk pregnancy physicians, and public health professionals will not stand idly by as our system of prevention is dismantled. This ends now.”

The lawsuit asserts that HHS and Secretary Kennedy have undermined public health by:

• Blocking CDC communications
• Canceling vaccine advisory meetings
• Announcing studies of disproven vaccine-autism links
• Replacing ACIP members with antivaccine advocates
• Violating federal procedural rules

The plaintiffs argue these changes compromise public confidence and hinder access to evidence-based preventive care. In public statements, leadership from each organization emphasized the impact of the directive on clinical care, patient trust, and public health infrastructure. They called for reinstating science-driven vaccine guidance developed through transparent processes.

Reference

Leading medical professional societies, patient sue HHS, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for unlawful, unilateral vaccine changes. Infectious Diseases Society of America. July 7, 2025. Accessed July 7, 2025. https://www.idsociety.org/news--publications-new/articles/2025/leading-medical-professional-societies-patient-sue-hhs-robert-f.-kennedy-jr.--for-unlawful-unilateral-vaccine-changes