Bobby Junior accused of endangering public health by using phony science
The plaintiffs also include an unnamed pregnant doctor who
has been barred from getting a COVID-19 booster, based on the recommendations
that Kennedy announced unilaterally in May. The doctor contends that she is at
high risk for exposure to infectious disease due to her job working as a
hospital-based physician.
The groups that signed onto the lawsuit are the American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American College of Physicians (ACP), the
American Public Health Association (APHA), the Infectious Diseases Society of
America (ISDA), Massachusetts Public Health Alliance (MPHA), and the Society
for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM).
On May 27, Kennedy announced sweeping changes in US vaccine policy, including the removal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 recommendation for healthy children and pregnant women. The move came a week after the Food and Drug Administration announced that the COVID-19 vaccine would be recommended only for adults ages 65 and older and others who have health conditions that make them most susceptible to infection complications. In both instances, the decisions were made without input from federal vaccine advisory groups.
A few weeks later, Kennedy removed 17
members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP),
replacing them with eight members, including several of Kennedy's anti-vaccine
allies.
The lawsuit filed today is the latest among a handful of
efforts to push back against Kennedy’s assault on vaccines. Others include the
launch of the Vaccine Integrity Project (VIP), a group of leading public health
experts that defend vaccination and make recommendations on how nongovernmental
agencies can help make sure that vaccine recommendations remain grounded in the
best available science, free of external influence.
The project is led by a steering group brought together by
the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP), which publishes
CIDRAP News, and is supported by Alumbra, a foundation established by
philanthropist Christy Walton.
Charges: Unlawful changes undermine vaccine science
Along with the charge that Kennedy acted arbitrarily and
capriciously when changing the COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, the plaintiffs
say Kennedy unjustly dismissed the 17 previous ACIP members. The plaintiffs, in
a statement from the ACP, added that, since then, the committee has undermined
the science behind vaccine recommendations.
In its first
recommendations on June 26, Kennedy's hand-picked panel
recommended against receiving flu vaccines that contain the preservative
thimerosal, reviving a hot-button topic of anti-vaccine groups. More than 40
studies over many decades have found no link between thimerosal and
developmental delays, but the CDC and AAP asked vaccine manufacturers to remove
the preservative in 1999 to bolster confidence in vaccines, not because the
ingredient is harmful.
The lawsuit asks for preliminary and permanent injunctions
to halt Kennedy's COVID vaccine recommendations and to declare that the changes
are unlawful.
Richard Hughes IV, partner at Epstein Becker Green and lead
counsel for the plaintiffs, said in the statement,
"This administration is an existential threat to vaccination in America,
and those in charge are only just getting started. If left unchecked, Secretary
Kennedy will accomplish his goal of ridding the United States of vaccines,
which would unleash a wave of preventable harm on our nation’s children."
The lawsuit contends that coordinated actions by HHS and
Kennedy were designed to mislead, confuse, and gradually desensitize the public
to anti-vaccine and anti-science rhetoric. It also contends that Kennedy has
widely flouted federal procedural rules, including blocking CDC communications,
cancelling federal vaccine advisory group meetings without explanation, and
announcing studies to probe non-existent links between vaccines and autism.
Plaintiffs cite lack of evidence, threats to patients
Susan Kressly, MD, president of the AAP, said the group is
alarmed by recent HHS decisions to change the childhood immunization
schedule.
"These decisions are founded in fear and not evidence,
and will make our children and communities more vulnerable to infectious
diseases like measles, whooping cough, and influenza," she said.
Jason Goldman, MD, president of the ACP, said the group is
highly concerned about the administration's recent actions regarding ACIP and
the negative impact it will have on patients and physician practices. "As
physicians, we require reliable, science-based guidance that is based on the
best available evidence, developed through an evidence-based and transparent
process, to ensure the safety, welfare, and lives of our patients," he
added.
