Federal Court Hits Pause on Changes to Childhood Vaccine Schedule

01

Stays the Schedule Revision

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) memo that reduced the number of routinely recommended childhood vaccines from 17 to 11 is temporarily blocked. The memo, issued by HHS in January, impacted several long-standing recommendations of the ACIP, including those for the use of Hepatitis B, Meningococcal B and Meningococcal ACWY, RSV, influenza, COVID-19, and several others. The updated childhood immunization schedule reverts to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance that existed prior to May 2025. This aligns with the recommendations of several professional societies, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

02

Stays the ACIP Member Appointments

The appointments of 13 ACIP members are stayed, meaning those individuals cannot serve on the committee while the case proceeds. The court found that the appointment process likely did not comply with Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) requirements. The ruling noted that: 

• While the judge did not suggest that the members of the ACIP are not experts in their respective fields, he did conclude that fewer than half of the members had meaningful, vaccine-related expertise, “the very focus of ACIP”.
• The judge further determined that the committee as reconstituted was not “fairly balanced.”
• The replacement of all 17 members without established outreach or vetting practices undermined the committee’s legitimacy.

03

Stays All Votes Taken by the Reconstituted ACIP

All votes taken by the now-stayed committee members are temporarily blocked, reverting vaccine recommendations to those that were in effect prior to May 2025. This includes the vote to eliminate the universal birth dose recommendation for hepatitis B and changes to COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for pregnant women and healthy children.

March 16, 2026

The Court Responds
Judge Brian Murphy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted a preliminary injunction in part, temporarily blocking key changes made by HHS to the childhood immunization schedule, and staying the appointments to ACIP made since June 2025.

The legality of the appointments remains a central issue in the case.

January 5, 2026

Revised Childhood Schedule is Announced
On January 5, 2026, the then-Acting Director of the CDC, Jim O’Neill signed a decision memorandum accepting recommendations from a federal review of U.S. childhood immunization practices. The agency said the updated framework would organize vaccines into three categories:

• Vaccines that are recommended for all children.
• Vaccines that are recommended for certain high-risk groups.
• Vaccines that are recommended based on shared clinical decision-making. 

The changes were made without a formal vote or recommendation from ACIP. HHS stated that the revised schedule was based on a review of immunization practices in 20 peer nations and that all vaccines would continue to be covered by insurance without cost-sharing.

The AAP, the American Medical Association (AMA), and more than 200 other medical organizations stated that they would continue to follow the AAP’s evidence-based recommendations rather than follow the new, shared clinical decision-making guidelines of the revised federal schedule.

December 5, 2025

Presidential Memorandum Issued
A Presidential Memorandum directed the HHS Secretary and the Acting CDC Director to review how other developed nations structure their childhood vaccine schedules and to update the U.S. schedule if their review identified approaches with stronger outcomes.

July 7, 2025

The Lawsuit is Filed
The case, AAP et al. v. Kennedy et al., initially challenged the May 2025 changes to COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, alleging that recent changes were arbitrary and failed to comply with procedures required under the Administrative Procedure Act. It also challenges the reconstitution of the ACIP, alleging this action violated federal law.

June 9, 2025

All Sitting ACIP Members Removed
HHS announced on June 9, 2025 that all 17 sitting ACIP members had been removed. The department said the decision was intended to restore public trust and address alleged conflicts of interest on the committee.

New members were appointed on June 11, 2025, with additional appointments on September 11, 2025 and January 13, 2026.