Since taking office as HHS Secretary in February 2025, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made sweeping changes to federal vaccine policy: he fired the CDC’s entire vaccine advisory committee and installed new members, cut the recommended childhood immunization schedule from about seventeen vaccines to eleven, and directed the CDC to walk back its statement that vaccines do not cause autism. In March 2026, a federal judge blocked the two biggest pieces of that agenda. The case is now on appeal, the advisory committee has no working members, and measles is at a three-decade high.
What Kennedy Changed at HHS and CDC
Firing and Replacing the Vaccine Advisory Committee
On June 10, 2025, Kennedy removed all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the expert panel that has shaped U.S. vaccine policy for decades. He described it as a “clean sweep” meant to “restore public trust” and “remove conflicts of interests,” though he did not identify specific conflicts among the removed members. He acknowledged that without a mass removal, the administration could not have appointed a majority of new members until 2028.1CIDRAP. Kennedy Removes All ACIP Members, Eyes Replacements2TIME. RFK Jr. Removes CDC Vaccine Committee Experts
Kennedy then appointed eight new members. Several had records of vaccine skepticism or paid roles in vaccine litigation against manufacturers, work that ACIP’s own rules prohibit members from doing. Robert Malone had earned $350 per hour as an expert witness in a case against Merck over the MMR vaccine’s mumps component. Martin Kulldorff had earned $400 per hour as an expert witness in Gardasil litigation and remained a named expert in pending cases against Merck. Vicky Pebsworth sat on the board of the National Vaccine Information Center, a prominent anti-vaccine group.3The New York Times. RFK Jr. Vaccine Advisers4The BMJ. Kennedy’s New ACIP Appointments Senator Elizabeth Warren wrote to Kennedy noting that conflict-of-interest disclosures were publicly available for only one of the eight new members.5U.S. Senate. Senator Warren Letter to RFK Re ACIP Member Conflicts of Interest
At its early meetings, the reconstituted committee declined to recommend COVID-19 vaccines for any population, voted to stop recommending the combined MMRV shot for children under four, reversed the longstanding recommendation that infants receive a hepatitis B vaccine at birth, and voted to remove thimerosal from U.S. flu vaccines.6PBS NewsHour. In a Tumultuous Year, U.S. Health Policy Transforms Under RFK Jr.7KFF. Tracking State Actions on Vaccine Policy and Access
Cutting the Childhood Vaccine Schedule
On January 5, 2026, following a December 2025 presidential memorandum, Kennedy and the CDC announced an immediate overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule, reducing the number of routinely recommended vaccines from roughly seventeen to eleven. Six vaccines were moved from “routine” recommendation to “shared clinical decision-making,” meaning they would be suggested only for high-risk children or through an individualized conversation between parents and doctors:
- Rotavirus
- COVID-19
- Influenza
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Meningococcal disease
RSV and dengue vaccine recommendations were removed. The HPV recommendation was cut from two or three doses to one. The vaccines that stayed on the routine schedule included DTaP, Hib, pneumococcal conjugate, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, and chickenpox.8KFF. The New Federal Vaccine Schedule: What Changed9The Hill. CDC Reduces Childhood Vaccines
HHS justified the changes by arguing the U.S. recommended too many vaccines compared with peer countries like Denmark. No new safety alerts or clinical trials had prompted the shift. The decision bypassed normal ACIP procedures, and officials acknowledged they had not conducted a new assessment of which populations qualified as “high risk.”9The Hill. CDC Reduces Childhood Vaccines
The Autism Reversal
In November 2025, Kennedy directed the CDC to change its longstanding position that vaccines do not cause autism. The agency’s website was updated to state: “The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the possibility that infant vaccines cause autism.” The original header “Vaccines do not cause autism” remained only because of Kennedy’s prior agreement with Senator Bill Cassidy during his confirmation; the website now carries a disclaimer saying so.10Reuters. US CDC Says Claims That Vaccines Do Not Cause Autism Are ‘Not Evidence-Based’11Politico. Cassidy After CDC Vaccine Website Change
Other Agency-Level Actions
In August 2025, HHS terminated approximately $500 million in contracts for mRNA vaccine development across 22 projects.12U.S. News & World Report. Calling the Shots: Tracking Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Moves on Vaccines That same month, CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired after less than a month in the job. Her lawyers said she was dismissed for refusing to “rubberstamp unscientific, reckless directives.” She later testified that Kennedy had demanded she pre-approve all ACIP recommendations regardless of the evidence and had told her there was “no science or evidence associated with the childhood vaccine schedule.”13CIDRAP. Fired CDC Director Describes Pressure From Kennedy Over Vaccines At least three other senior CDC officials resigned afterward.14COSSA. CDC Director Fired After Clash With HHS Secretary Kennedy Over Vaccines
In May 2026, reports emerged that FDA officials had blocked publication of several internal studies supporting the safety of COVID-19 and shingles vaccines. Scientists were directed in October 2025 to withdraw two COVID-19 vaccine studies already accepted by medical journals, and in February 2026 officials refused to sign off on submitting shingles vaccine research to a major drug safety conference.15The New York Times. FDA Covid Vaccine Studies
What the Federal Court Blocked
On July 7, 2025, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, the American Public Health Association, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance sued Kennedy in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The suit, American Academy of Pediatrics v. Kennedy, alleged his actions violated the Administrative Procedure Act as “arbitrary and capricious” and bypassed ACIP’s legally required role. Plaintiffs later amended the complaint to challenge the January 2026 schedule changes.16Georgetown Law Litigation Tracker. American Academy of Pediatrics et al. v. Kennedy et al.
On March 16, 2026, U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy issued a preliminary injunction. The court found that Kennedy’s ACIP restructuring likely “fails to comport with governing law” and that the childhood vaccine schedule changes were “arbitrary and capricious.” The ruling halted the memo enacting the new schedule, stayed the appointments of Kennedy’s 13 ACIP members, and nullified all votes they had taken since June 2025, including the vote to end universal hepatitis B vaccination at birth.17CBS News. Judge Blocks Parts of RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Agenda18NPR. Judge Blocks RFK Jr. Vaccine Changes
Separately, in February 2026, attorneys general from fourteen states and the governor of Pennsylvania filed a multistate lawsuit challenging the “Kennedy Schedule” and the ACIP restructuring, arguing the changes lacked scientific basis and were straining state Medicaid, CHIP, and public health programs.19Maryland Office of the Attorney General. Attorney General Brown Joins Multistate Lawsuit Challenging the Kennedy Vaccine Schedule
What This Means for Families Right Now
Under the injunction, the pre-June 2025 childhood vaccine schedule is technically restored. But ACIP itself is inactive. The court barred Kennedy’s appointees from serving, the previously removed members were not automatically reinstated, and the committee has no quorum.20The Conversation. Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Agenda
Coverage consequences flow directly from ACIP’s recommendations. The Vaccines for Children program, which provides free immunizations to roughly half of U.S. children, covers vaccines on ACIP’s list. Under the Affordable Care Act, private insurers are required to cover ACIP-recommended vaccines; if a recommendation is withdrawn, insurers may no longer be obligated to pay. During the window when Kennedy’s changes were in effect, uninsured and underinsured children risked losing access to vaccines that privately insured children in the same practices could still get, and families faced out-of-pocket costs that can run into hundreds of dollars per dose.21NPR. RFK Jr. Vaccine Pediatric Recommendations Medicaid HPV
Measles and Vaccination Rates
The United States eliminated measles in 2000. In 2025, the CDC recorded 2,286 measles cases, the highest total in more than three decades, followed by over 1,700 additional cases through April 2026.22CIDRAP. Hearings: RFK Jr. Claims No Responsibility for Measles Spread Three people died of measles in 2025, the first U.S. measles deaths since 2015: two unvaccinated children in West Texas and one unvaccinated adult in New Mexico.23NIH PMC. U.S. Measles Outbreak Data
Kennedy’s public messaging on measles has been inconsistent. In April 2026 congressional hearings, he said “We promote the measles vaccine” and acknowledged it “prevents measles in 97% of the people who take it.” Asked whether the MMR vaccine is “safe and effective,” he answered “Yes,” then added “for most people.” During the early Texas outbreak in March 2025, he emphasized vitamin A, the steroid budesonide, the antibiotic clarithromycin, and cod liver oil as measles treatments. Health experts noted there is no curative treatment for measles and that high doses of vitamin A can cause liver and brain damage. Kennedy also claimed two Texas measles deaths were caused by “other things,” a claim contradicted by state health authorities.24FactCheck.org. A Timeline of RFK Jr.’s Mixed Messaging on the Measles Vaccine25CNN. Measles RFK Vitamin A Misinformation
A Reuters analysis released in March 2026 found the number of toddlers receiving routine vaccinations in Michigan fell sharply between January 2025 and January 2026. A University of Pennsylvania study found that the “shared clinical decision-making” label itself caused confusion among parents and reduced vaccine uptake.20The Conversation. Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Agenda26Stateline. States Go Their Own Way as RFK Jr. Shifts Federal Vaccine Policy
How States Are Responding
As of March 2026, twenty-nine states plus Washington, D.C. had explicitly rejected the new federal vaccine guidance. Twenty-two states now rely on non-federal entities such as the American Academy of Pediatrics for their vaccine recommendations rather than the CDC.27CIDRAP. State of U.S. Vaccine Policy Special Edition7KFF. Tracking State Actions on Vaccine Policy and Access
States have also formed regional coalitions. The Northeast Public Health Collaborative spans eleven states from Connecticut to Vermont. The West Coast Health Alliance (California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington) issued its own vaccine recommendations for the 2025–26 season. Colorado passed legislation in March 2026 authorizing the state to follow medical-association guidelines rather than the CDC for its childhood schedule.7KFF. Tracking State Actions on Vaccine Policy and Access27CIDRAP. State of U.S. Vaccine Policy Special Edition
Where Things Go From Here
The administration filed a notice of appeal in April 2026 and in June 2026 moved to expedite the appeal, arguing the committee needs to meet before the fall flu season. Briefing is ongoing in the First Circuit.16Georgetown Law Litigation Tracker. American Academy of Pediatrics et al. v. Kennedy et al.28The New York Times. Childhood Vaccines Lawsuit Kennedy
In May 2026, Kennedy’s office re-established a new ACIP charter, broadening membership criteria to require a “balanced range of scientific, clinical, and public health expertise” rather than vaccine-specific research credentials, and shifting the committee’s focus toward assessing “other preventive measures” beyond vaccines. Paul Offit, a leading vaccinologist, called the charter “retrofitted” to qualify members who previously lacked the necessary expertise. Sara Rosenbaum, professor emerita of health law at George Washington University, said the changes allow Kennedy to “superimpose on the science itself his deep prejudice” against vaccines.29STAT News. ACIP Charter Responsibilities RFK Jr.
In late May 2026, President Trump signed an executive order directing the CDC and ACIP to align U.S. childhood vaccination recommendations with “peer, developed countries,” effectively codifying the approach Kennedy had already pursued. Experts noted the order has “no operational teeth” while the judicial blocks on ACIP remain in place.30CIDRAP. Trump Executive Order Directs CDC to Realign Childhood Vaccine Recommendations
In April 2026, Trump nominated Dr. Erica Schwartz, a physician, retired rear admiral, and former deputy surgeon general, to lead the CDC. Schwartz has publicly called vaccines a “cornerstone of prevention” and has no ties to the anti-vaccine movement. Some of Kennedy’s allies criticized the pick. Former officials expressed concern that she would be “window dressing” if Kennedy does not allow her to act independently. If confirmed, she would be the CDC’s fourth leader in just over a year.31The New York Times. Trump News32STAT News. Erica Schwartz CDC Director Nominee Reaction