Massachusetts District Judge Brian Murphy decreed in favor of the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups, which faulted the Trump administration for allegedly acting illegally to carry out what they labeled Kennedy’s agenda of toppling immunization policies.
By Catholics for Catholics
A federal judge blocked parts of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s reform of federal vaccine policy in a March 16 ruling, including a directive to lower the number of shots customarily recommended for children.
Massachusetts District Judge Brian Murphy decreed in favor of the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups, which faulted the Trump administration for allegedly acting illegally to carry out what they labeled Kennedy’s agenda of toppling immunization policies.
Murphy wrote that for decades the United States had focused on the suppression and reduction of diseases by using vaccines. He added that under Kennedy, the government “has disregarded those methods and thereby undermined the integrity of its actions.”
According to Newsmax, Murphy’s ruling dispensed a weighty obstacle for the reduced childhood vaccination schedule promoted by Kennedy, a staunch anti-vaccine activist appointed last year by President Donald Trump to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Murphy said that under Kennedy, the government “has disregarded those methods and thereby undermined the integrity of its actions.”
In addition, Murphy, who was appointed by Democrat President Joe Biden, also blocked Kennedy’s 13 appointees to an important vaccine advisory panel from serving in their positions ahead of a meeting scheduled to happen on March 18-19 and upended votes they had previously taken to reshape vaccine policies.
“This is a significant victory for public health, evidence-based medicine, the rule of law, and the American people,” Richard Hughes, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in a statement.
“The government may appeal this decision, and we have much more work to do to achieve a full victory on the merits. But for now, we get to celebrate a rare bit of good news.”
The U.S. Department of Justice contended that while HHS welcomed discussions about vaccine policy, Kennedy and officials under him had extensive authority to change it to address what they said was a decline in public trust in vaccines following the COVID-19 pandemic.
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