When Science Has to Sue

The relationship between professional societies and federal vaccine policy has typically been friendly. For most of the life of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), federal vaccine guidelines have functioned in harmony with recommendations from American professional societies, including the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). These organizations and others served as liaison members to ACIP. When I called for professional societies to step in and fill the evidence void that the newly reconstituted ACIP was bound to create (see the Contagion summer 2025 issue), I did not envision what would happen: They sued.

US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr moved quickly after his confirmation to shift the pillars of American public health to reflect his own views on vaccination. The dismissal of all 17 members of the ACIP in June 2025 was followed by Kennedy’s appointments, most of whom lack the expertise in vaccines or public health necessary to make the policy decisions that affect the health of every American.¹ Some of the first appointees were among the loudest voices condemning public health actions during the COVID-19 pandemic and were vocal opponents of vaccination. The first appointments were followed by the news in July that the ACIP would exclude liaison professional societies from informing vaccine recommendations, ignoring some of the nation’s deepest and most trusted sources of expertise on vaccination. This is when a coalition of these organizations, led by the AAP, filed suit.²

This lawsuit was unprecedented. It challenged Kennedy’s changes to vaccine recommendations and the constitution of the ACIP. The volume of changes that have occurred in just over a year is difficult to overstate. Kennedy announced in May 2025, before the reconstituted ACIP had even convened, that COVID-19 vaccines were no longer recommended for healthy children or pregnant individuals, with no advisory process, no ACIP vote, and no new evidence. This triggered the lawsuit. Since then, either Kennedy, the ACIP, or the CDC has done the following:

1. Recommended against thimerosal-containing multidose influenza vaccines³
2. Blocked respiratory syncytial virus and meningococcal vaccine recommendations from the prior ACIP⁴
3. Downgraded COVID-19 vaccines to shared decision-making status⁴
4. Recommended against measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella vaccines for children younger than 4 years⁵
5. Ended hepatitis B vaccinations at birth ⁶
6. Reduced the childhood vaccine schedule from 17 to 11 vaccine-preventable diseases. (Learn more here: HHS Vaccine Recommendations Struck Down by Judicial Ruling )²
   

Nearly all of these changes were made without new evidence to support them. On March 16, 2026, US District Judge Brian Murphy issued stays on nearly all the actions that the ACIP has taken since its previous membership was eliminated.² The ruling essentially rolled back the clock until a full ruling is heard on the merits of the case. While this will certainly be appealed by the federal government, and the ultimate fate of the case has yet to be determined, the relief is real, but so is the fragility of what was won. The point?

Professional societies do not sue the federal government. This time they did, and they won. This was more effective than my suggestion that they develop their own guidance, but it is fragile and depends on the right judge making the right ruling in the right case. It is a genuine loss that litigation has become a necessary tool of science advocacy. But it has, and professional societies must remain willing to use it. This case will continue, the appeal will come, and the outcome is uncertain. Our professional societies exist to protect patients through evidence-based practice, and when the institutions responsible for generating that evidence are compromised, going to court is not a last resort: It is part of the job.

References
1.Contagion Editorial Team. HHS Secretary Kennedy Dismisses CDC Vaccine Advisory Committee. Contagion. June 9, 2025. Accessed May 25, 2026.
https://www.contagionlive.com/view/hhs-secretary-kennedy-dismisses-cdc-vaccine-advisory-committee
2.Bender K. Friend of Court Filing Supports AAP Lawsuit against HHS Vaccine Policy Changes. Contagion. February 11, 2026. Accessed May 25, 2026.
https://www.contagionlive.com/view/friend-of-court-filing-supports-aap-lawsuit-against-hhs-vaccine-policy-changes
3. Parkinson J. RFK, HHS OKs Removal of Thimerosal From Influenza Vaccines. Contagion. July 24, 2025. Accessed May 25, 2026.
https://www.contagionlive.com/view/rfk-hhs-oks-removal-of-thimerosal-from-influenza-vaccines
4. Contagion Editorial Team. US Completely Revamps Childhood Vaccine Schedule to Resemble Small European Country. Contagion. January 25, 2025. Accessed May 25, 2026.
https://www.contagionlive.com/view/us-completely-revamps-childhood-vaccine-schedule-to-resemble-small-european-country
5.Parkinson J. Amidst Confusion, and Delayed Hepatitis B Vaccine Vote, CDC ACIP Votes to Restrict Measles Combination Vaccine. Contagion. September 18, 2025. Accessed May 25, 2026.
https://www.contagionlive.com/view/amidst-confusion-and-delayed-hepatitis-b-vaccine-vote-cdc-acip-votes-to-restrict-measles-combination-vaccine
6.Parkinson J. CDC Adopts Individual-Based Decision-Making for Hepatitis B Vaccine for Infants. Contagion. December 17, 2025. Accessed May 25, 2026.
https://www.contagionlive.com/view/cdc-adopts-individual-based-decision-making-for-hepatitis-b-vaccine-for-infants