Covid and flu shots in limbo as Trump administration mulls appeal over vaccine panel
Source: NBC News
March 27, 2026, 11:14 AM EDT
More than a week after a federal judge blocked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s overhaul of both the nations childhood vaccine schedule and a key vaccine advisory committee, the Justice Department has yet to appeal the decision and ultimately may not.
The Justice Department has 60 days to appeal the decision, which would be by May 15. One HHS official with knowledge of the situation said that no final decision has been made on the agencys next steps regarding the lawsuit.
Its the latest example of uncertainty under Kennedys leadership. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been without a director for months, with no sign of a new nominee waiting in the wings. And confirmation for his pick for the next surgeon general, Casey Means, appears to have stalled in the Senate.
Meanwhile, work that would normally be ongoing among independent vaccine experts charged with making recommendations to the federal government has stalled indefinitely. Planned meetings about this falls flu and Covid shots, for example, are in limbo.
All the work, as far as I know, has ceased, putting us in a tremendous deficit in recommendations, said Dr. Jason Goldman, president of the American College of Physicians. Its just horrifying to contemplate what damage has been done.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/covid-flu-shots-limbo-trump-rfk-jr-vaccine-panel-appeal-rcna265131
Lovie777
(22,946 posts)LetMyPeopleVote
(179,633 posts)Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s vaccine skepticism is posing challenges for the Trump administration. Top health jobs are unfilled, and a court has blocked his vaccine schedule changes.
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A string of developments over the past several weeks have put Mr. Kennedys vaccine agenda at risk. The confirmation of Dr. Casey Means, President Trumps nominee for surgeon general, is stalled on Capitol Hill, where three Republicans on the Senate Health Committee, including its chairman, have expressed concern about her views on vaccines.....
Last week, a federal judge blocked Mr. Kennedys changes to the childhood vaccine schedule. And on Wednesday, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who is running the C.D.C. even though his time as acting director has expired, made the new normal clear.....
But Mr. Kennedys vaccine agenda his insistence that vaccines are somehow linked to autism, despite a lack of evidence has always been a bit of an Achilles heel.....
Polls now show that Mr. Kennedys vaccine agenda is a dud, unpopular even with Republicans. And that has created discomfort inside the White House, which has made clear its desire for Mr. Kennedy to downplay talk of vaccines while emphasizing his more popular healthy-eating agenda.....
Six medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, sued. Judge Brian Murphy, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, ruled last week that Mr. Kennedy and his appointees had made arbitrary and capricious changes to the childhood vaccine schedule.
Judge Murphy also deemed the majority of the new A.C.I.P members unqualified. The best-known of them, Dr. Robert Malone, abruptly quit earlier this week, saying that the judge had slandered me and that he had better things to do. In a text message, Dr. Malone said he was not pushed out.
Kennedy is a nut case and his vaccine agenda scares me. Measles are not far too common. I hope that trump gets rid of Kennedy at some point
IronLionZion
(51,218 posts)whether it's through death or deportation