Attorney General Neronha, coalition file lawsuit challenging the Kennedy vaccine schedule and unlawful overhaul of federal childhood immunization policy

Attorney General Neronha, coalition file lawsuit challenging the Kennedy vaccine schedule and unlawful overhaul of federal childhood immunization policy

Published on Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha joined a coalition of 14 attorneys general and the Governor of Pennsylvania in filing a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration's radical overhaul of the nation's childhood immunization schedule. The complaint names Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Acting Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Jay Bhattacharya, and the CDC and HHS as defendants.

The lawsuit challenges a January 5, 2026 CDC "Decision Memo" that stripped seven childhood vaccines-those protecting against rotavirus, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-of their universally recommended status. The complaint also challenges the unlawful replacement of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the expert federal panel that has guided U.S. vaccine policy for decades.

"The Trump Administration's actions here are the natural result of appointing an anti-vaxxer as head of HHS, but that doesn't mean we're not going to fight to safeguard public health," said Attorney General Neronha. "You don't need to be a scientist to understand the science: for decades vaccinations have prevented hundreds of millions of cases of illness in this country and have saved Americans trillions of dollars in related expenses. Now, Secretary Kennedy has unlawfully fired all members of a qualified committee charged with protecting our kids' health and replaced them with those who will do his bidding. If allowed, Americans, and especially our kids, will pay the price. We can't, and won't, allow them to endanger the lives of our children."

According to the 2024 CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, researchers have estimated that among children born in the U.S. between 1994 and 2023, routine childhood vaccinations prevented approximately 508 million cases of illness, 32 million hospitalizations, and over 1.1 million deaths, generating $2.7 trillion in societal savings.

This remarkable achievement has been made possible in large part by leading medical scholars and public health experts who have served on ACIP and established the science-based childhood vaccination schedule that federal agencies, states, and parents have confidently relied on for decades.

In June 2025, Secretary Kennedy abruptly fired all 17 ACIP voting members and replaced them with individuals who lack the scientific qualifications required by ACIP's own charter and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). At least nine of the 13 current ACIP members lack the expertise or professional qualifications required for the role, and a majority have publicly expressed views aligned with Secretary Kennedy's well-documented opposition to vaccines.

In December 2025, the reconstituted ACIP reversed nearly thirty years of CDC policy by eliminating the recommendation for a universal hepatitis B birth dose-a vaccine that is up to 90 percent effective in preventing perinatal infection when administered within 24 hours of birth. Shortly thereafter, the CDC expanded its ideological attack on routine childhood vaccines. On January 5, 2026, then-Acting CDC Director Jim O'Neill-who has no medical or scientific background-signed off on a "Decision Memo" that demoted seven vaccines from the universally recommended childhood vaccination schedule to a lesser status that invites confusion and uncertainty.

The Decision Memo is not based on any new scientific evidence, any recommendation by a lawfully constituted ACIP, or any systematic review of the available data. Instead, it relied primarily on superficial comparisons to purported "peer countries"-particularly Denmark-while ignoring the fundamental differences between those nations and the United States, as well as the overwhelming evidence supporting the effectiveness of the CDC's pre-Kennedy childhood immunization schedule. Additionally, in contrast to countries like Denmark with universal healthcare, more than 100 million Americans lack usual access to primary care, making the instruction to "discuss vaccines with your clinician" essentially meaningless.

Lower vaccination rates will in turn lead directly to higher rates of infectious disease. For Rhode Island and other states, this means a greater strain on their Medicaid programs and public health systems, more time and money spent combatting outbreaks and misinformation, and wasted resources decoupling state laws, regulations, and public guidance from ACIP's and CDC's now-untrustworthy recommendations.

The actions taken by ACIP, HHS, and the CDC are likely to increase vaccine hesitancy in Rhode Island, increasing the risk of vaccine-preventable illness at significant cost to the State. Further, these actions impose significant costs on Rhode Island, which relies heavily on the ACIP's recommendations to inform its own vaccine policy.

Contrary to Secretary Kennedy's misinformation and insinuation, vaccines previously recommended on the CDC's pre-Kennedy childhood immunization schedule remain safe and effective, and they are critical for protecting America's children and public health at large.

The plaintiff states are asking the court to declare the Kennedy Schedule and the Kennedy ACIP appointments unlawful, and to enjoin, vacate, and set aside both the new immunization schedule and the unlawful appointments.

Joining Attorney General Neronha in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Wisconsin, and the Governor of Pennsylvania.

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