A coalition of 15 states has filed a lawsuit against President Trump’s administration seeking to reverse recent changes to federal childhood vaccine recommendations. The legal challenge follows a January decision to reduce the number of diseases children are routinely vaccinated against from 17 to 11.
As reported by The New York Times, the lawsuit was brought by 14 Democratic attorneys general and the governor of Pennsylvania. It names the Department of Health and Human Services, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and acting CDC director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya as defendants.
The states are challenging both the reduced vaccine schedule and what they describe as the unlawful replacement of members on the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. This is the panel that traditionally recommends which vaccines Americans should receive and when.
States argue the administration bypassed scientific process
At a news briefing, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said HHS Secretary Kennedy and the CDC were disregarding decades of scientific research and credible medical expertise. He also argued that weakening vaccine requirements could strain state resources and increase preventable illness among children.
The complaint contends that the revised vaccination schedule is not grounded in established scientific evidence. Instead, it argues that federal officials relied on comparisons to other countries, including Denmark, whose health care system and population differ significantly from those in the United States. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said adopting Denmark’s vaccine schedule without adopting its national health care system leaves children unprotected from serious diseases.
According to the filing, the administration announced the changes without consulting the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, whose recommendations typically guide state requirements for day care and school attendance. Insurance companies are generally required to cover vaccines recommended by the committee. The administration has also drawn scrutiny in other areas, including the TSA PreCheck plan fallout.
Secretary Kennedy previously dismissed all 17 ACIP panelists in June and appointed new members. The lawsuit states that the new advisers have rescinded several recommendations, including immunizing all newborns against hepatitis B, a virus that can cause severe liver damage.
The legal action follows a similar July lawsuit filed by six medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, after Secretary Kennedy announced on X that Covid vaccines would no longer be recommended for healthy children or pregnant women. The administration’s recent messaging has also drawn attention, including the Greenland hospital ship claim. That case argues the administration made arbitrary and capricious changes to the vaccine schedule without the customary evidence review process.
More than 100 public health experts and organizations have filed an amicus brief supporting the earlier challenge. Arguments in that case were heard in federal court in Massachusetts this month, and a ruling is expected soon.
The states participating in the new lawsuit are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin, along with the governor of Pennsylvania.
Published: Feb 25, 2026 06:00 am