States sue Trump administration over vaccine recommendations
More than a dozen states have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration regarding its recent rollback of vaccine recommendations for children, calling the move an illegal threat to public health, reports BritPanorama.
The states contend that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) endangered children’s lives by announcing last month that it would cease recommending broad immunization against diseases such as flu, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, some forms of meningitis, and RSV. The altered guidance now suggests that vaccinations are recommended only for specific high-risk groups or upon doctors’ advice within a “shared decision-making” framework. This shift has drawn significant criticism from medical experts.
The updated vaccine recommendations, the states argue, deviate from established medical consensus and will impose additional financial burdens on states to combat potential outbreaks. This legal challenge includes states such as Arizona and California.
“The health and safety of children across the country is not a political issue,” stated Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, at a recent news conference. “It is not a culture war talking point.”
The CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to inquiries regarding the lawsuit.
This legal action intensifies an ongoing confrontation between Democratic-led states and the Republican administration over significant changes to public health policy introduced under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Notably, the Trump administration has implemented staffing cuts at federal public health agencies and reduced funding for scientific research.
Kennedy previously ousted every member of a vaccine advisory committee, replacing them with his own appointees, which the lawsuit claims was an unlawful action.
The lawsuit follows the formation of an alliance earlier this year by the Democratic governors of California, Washington state, and Oregon, who sought to create their own vaccine recommendations, arguing that the Trump administration was compromising public health by politicizing the CDC.
While states have the authority to mandate vaccinations for schoolchildren, federal CDC guidelines typically influence state regulatory frameworks.
The developments highlight the growing tension between state and federal public health policies amidst an evolving landscape of vaccination protocols.
