RFK Jr.'s Changes to Childhood Vaccine Schedule Shut Down by Federal Judge, Slammed as 'Unsupported and Unscientific'

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s attempt to change vaccine policies, including reducing the recommended childhood immunizations, was squashed by a federal judge.

The ruling on Monday, March 16 comes after the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other medical groups filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), alleging Kennedy's agenda, which also included an overhaul of a vaccine advisory committee, violated violated federal law.

In January, RFK Jr., 72, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) decided that all babies no longer needed vaccines against hepatitis A, hepatitis B, RSV, dengue and two types of bacterial meningitis.

The APP, which originally brought the lawsuit against the HHS in July 2025, called the ruling "a historic and welcome outcome for children, communities, and pediatricians everywhere" in an official statement on Monday.

It read, "When Secretary Kennedy made unsupported and unscientific changes to pediatric immunization recommendations last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) was mission-bound to step up and push back against these dangerous actions that have sown chaos and confusion for parents and pediatricians across the country."

"This decision effectively means that a science-based process for developing immunization recommendations is not to be trifled with," it continued. "And represents a critical step to restoring scientific decision-making to federal vaccine policy that has kept children healthy for years."

In December 2025, OK! reported on Mandy Moore's response to news that a CDC panel voted against the long-established recommendation that newborns receive the hepatitis B vaccine.

The actress, 41, slammed the decision, writing on Instagram, "So grateful I had my babies before this buffoon was ruining public health with his baseless skepticism. How dangerous."

Just two months prior, six former U.S. Surgeons General warned in a letter published by The Washington Post that Kennedy’s actions "are endangering the health of the nation."

"The profound, immediate and unprecedented threat that Kennedy’s policies and positions pose to the nation’s health cannot be ignored," the letter read.

"Over recent months, we have watched with increasing alarm as the foundations of our nation’s public health system have been undermined," it went on. "Science and expertise have taken a back seat to ideology and misinformation. Morale has plummeted in our health agencies, and talent is fleeing at a time when we face rising threats — from resurgent infectious diseases to worsening chronic illnesses."

Kennedy's wife, Cheryl Hines, recently defended the anti-vaxxer against critics during a sit-down on Joe Rogan's podcast.

The Curb Your Enthusiasm alum, 60, told Rogan last month that people "paint him as somebody who is trying to hurt people," but they should "look at his career and who he is and what he's accomplished."

"He spent a lot of time suing huge corporations because they were polluting waterways, which was hurting people, killing people, and giving people cancer," Hines said.

"So why would he spend all of his life fighting for people, fighting for individuals, and then suddenly change and want to hurt people?" she added. "It just doesn’t track."