Arizona is suing the Trump administration over changes to childhood vaccine recommendations. Attorney General Kris Mayes is leading the new multi-state lawsuit along with California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a longtime vaccine skeptic. Last year, he ousted all 17 members of a panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on immunization policy and handpicked their replacements.
Then last month, the CDC made unprecedented changes to its childhood vaccine schedule, slashing the number of recommended shots from 17 to 11. Vaccines for rotavirus, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, influenza, COVID-19, and RSV are no longer universally recommended for children.
“After an exhaustive review of the evidence, we are aligning the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with international consensus while strengthening transparency and informed consent,” Kennedy said in a press release at the time. “This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health.”
But many medical experts called the changes reckless. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical organizations quickly filed their own lawsuit in response.
Mayes argues the changes to vaccine recommendations were based on political ideology, not medical evidence.
“This is not how science is supposed to work, this is not how government is supposed to work, and all of it was contrary to law,” Mayes said during a call with reporters Tuesday.
Mayes wants the courts to vacate the CDC’s new vaccine recommendations and declare Kennedy’s appointments to the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices unlawful.
“What Secretary Kennedy has done and what the Trump administration has enabled throws science out the window, replaces qualified experts with unqualified ideologues, and then uses the resulting confusion to undermine public confidence in vaccines that have saved millions of lives,” Mayes said.
The fourteen attorneys general and one governor in the lawsuit argue that their states will be directly harmed by the changes to vaccine policy. They say lower vaccination rates will result in more disease and more strain on state Medicaid systems.
“The health and safety of children across the country is not a political issue,” Mayes said.
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