RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine changes to CDC vaccine guidance blocked by judge

“All of this is to say that there is a method to the way these decisions have historically been made: a method that is scientific in nature and codified in law through procedural requirements,” Judge Murphy wrote.

“Unfortunately, the Government has ignored those methods and thereby undermined the integrity of its actions,” he wrote. “First, the Government bypassed the ACIP to change vaccination schedules, which is both a technical and procedural failure in itself and a strong indication of something more fundamentally problematic: an abandonment of the technical knowledge and experience embodied by that committee. Second, the Government removed all duly appointed members of the ACIP and summarily replaced them without conducting any of the rigorous evaluations that had been the hallmark of ACIP membership selection for decades. Once again, “This procedural failure highlights the very reasons the procedures exist and raises a substantial likelihood that the newly appointed ACIP does not conform to current law.”

Reprimanding ACIP members

The judge also criticized the firing of former ACIP members, the apparent lack of vetting for new members, and the lack of qualifications for members, naming names.

“First, of the fifteen members currently part of the ACIP, even under the most generous reading, only six appear to have any significant vaccine experience; very ACIP approach” he wrote (emphasis his).

“At least six ACIP members (Dr. Hillary Blackburn, Dr. Evelyn Griffin, Dr. Joseph Hibbeln, Dr. Kirk Milhoan, Dr. James Pagano, and Dr. Raymond Pollak) appear to lack experience or professional qualifications related to vaccines or immunization as required by the ACIP Charter,” he wrote. “Three other current ACIP members (Dr. Retsef Levi, Dr. Robert Malone and Dr. Catherine Stein) while having some experience possibly relevant to the ACIP role, appear to lack the qualifications and experience to constitute vaccine and immunization expertise.”

In all, Judge Murphy argued that Kennedy’s hand-picked advisors do not meet the requirements of ACIP’s bylaws, which state that members must be knowledgeable in relevant fields. They also do not comply with federal regulations requiring advisory boards to be “fairly balanced” in representing opinions within those relevant fields.