The RecordExhibit 116
Removing seven vaccines from the list recommended for all children
Ruled unlawful means: A court ruled against it. Some rulings are on appeal.
On Jan. 5, 2026, the CDC removed seven vaccines from the list it recommends for every child, including the shots against hepatitis B, rotavirus and the flu, without first getting a recommendation from its vaccine advisory committee.
What happened
The other four protect against meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, COVID-19 and RSV. NBC News reported that the number of diseases covered by the universal recommendations fell from 18 to 11. The change followed Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s removal of all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices in June 2025; he replaced them with his own appointees, many of them vaccine critics. In December 2025 the remade panel voted 8 to 3 to stop recommending the hepatitis B vaccine for every newborn, reversing nearly 30 years of CDC policy. The American Academy of Pediatrics and five other medical organizations, which had sued in July 2025 over earlier changes to COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, expanded their lawsuit to cover the new schedule, and a group of states co-led by California filed a separate suit in February 2026.
Where it stands
On March 16, 2026, Judge Brian Murphy of the federal court in Boston put the January changes on hold, along with the appointments of 13 of Kennedy's panel members and the votes the remade panel had taken. He found the medical groups likely to prove that both the schedule changes and the rebuilding of the panel violated the Administrative Procedure Act, wrote that the January memo was contrary to law and arbitrary, and said the 13 appointees appeared 'distinctly unqualified.' The recommendations that were in place before the changes apply again for now. The ruling is preliminary and rests on how the changes were made: the judge found the government likely skipped procedures the law requires. The government appealed, and Medical Daily, citing STAT, reported that the First Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments on Oct. 6, 2026.
The administration's side
Kennedy announced the committee firings in a Wall Street Journal column titled 'HHS Moves to Restore Public Trust in Vaccines.' After the ruling, an HHS spokesman said the department looks forward to the decision being overturned and called it one of this judge's attempts to keep the administration from governing.
Sources
Permanent link: https://unredactedrecord.com/e/vaccines/