Trending Now - US Vaccine Advisory Committee Faces Uncertainty After Court Ruling

WHO:

President Trump, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., US District Judge Brian E. Murphy, Dr. Robert Malone (former co-chair of ACIP), Dr. Kirk Milhoan (ACIP chair), Andrew Nixon (spokesperson for HHS), Richard Hughes (attorney for the American Academy of Pediatrics), Bruce Mirken (communications co-chair for Defend Public Health), Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

WHAT:

A federal judge temporarily blocked the overhaul of the vaccine schedule by HHS on March 16th, 2026.

The judge ruled that the decision to replace the CDC’s panel of independent vaccine experts did not follow federal legal procedures.

The judge found that of the 15 members currently on ACIP, only six had meaningful experience in vaccines.

The judge suspended all votes taken by ACIP and the planned meeting for the week was canceled.

The judge's ruling put on hold the membership of 13 ACIP members who were appointed by Kennedy.

The judge's decision is not the final ruling in the case, but a pause on government action.

WHERE:

United States, specifically referencing the operations of the CDC and HHS.

WHEN:

The ruling was issued on March 16th, 2026.

The lawsuit was filed in July 2025.

The changes to the vaccine schedule were made in January 2026.

WHY:

The changes to the vaccine schedule were challenged by professional groups led by the AAP, citing that the appointments did not follow the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.

The government argued that ACIP was a “purely advisory entity” and that Kennedy's changes were within his purview.

HOW:

The judge's ruling indicated that the committee could not meet without nearly the entirety of its membership.

The government had argued that the vaccine recommendations had been “a high outlier in the international community” and that a review was completed before the CDC made revisions to the vaccine schedule.

(UPDATED March 20, 2026 23:10 UTC)

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the overhaul of the vaccine schedule by HHS, ruling that the decision to replace the CDC’s panel of independent vaccine experts did not adhere to federal legal procedures. The judge found that only six of the fifteen members currently on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices had meaningful experience in vaccines, leading to the suspension of all votes taken by the committee and the cancellation of its planned meeting for the week. While this ruling, issued on March 16, is not the final decision in the case, it puts a pause on government action regarding the membership of thirteen ACIP members appointed by Secretary Kennedy.