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US judge blocks efforts to reshape childhood vaccine policy

A federal judge blocked changes to reduce routine childhood vaccines from 17 to 11, citing likely violations of law in reconstituting the vaccine advisory panel.

  • On March 16, U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Boston blocked key parts of Kennedy's vaccine policy effort after medical groups sued, citing unlawful actions.
  • Citing federal procedure, the lawsuit alleges that Kennedy's reconstitution of ACIP likely violated the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the Administrative Procedure Act, prompting a legal challenge.
  • In January, the CDC narrowed routine recommendations from 17 to 11, downgrading six diseases like rotavirus, influenza and hepatitis A, while still recommending MMR, polio, chickenpox and HPV.
  • He ordered that the new ACIP appointments and decisions be put on hold, and lawyers said 'ACIP as currently constituted cannot meet,' while the March 18 and 19 meeting was postponed.
  • Leading medical groups said the ruling restores science-based vaccine policymaking, major vaccine makers Pfizer, BioNTech, and Moderna grew wary, and the federal government could still appeal, prolonging uncertainty.
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Reuters broke the news in United Kingdom on Monday, March 16, 2026.
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