US appeals court weighs block on Kennedy’s vaccine panel appointments

On Tuesday, a lawyer for the Trump administration appeared before the 1st US Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston, arguing that a federal judge had improperly hindered the work of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) by blocking appointments made by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Matthew Zorn, a US Justice Department attorney, requested the court to overturn the judge's ruling on these appointments, enabling the committee to reconvene and continue its operations.

Kennedy, an anti-vaccine activist appointed by President Donald Trump, had removed and replaced all 17 independent experts who previously served on the panel. This move led to a lawsuit from the American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups, seeking to block other changes in vaccine policy under Kennedy's leadership. In March, US District Judge Brian Murphy ruled that Kennedy's selection process did not comply with the Federal Advisory Committee Act and that he had appointed individuals who were not qualified.

The Trump administration maintains that Murphy's ruling has deprived ACIP of a quorum needed for issuing recommendations on vaccines such as flu shots. Some judges on the three-judge appeals court panel expressed concerns about Murphy's order, stating that it lacked justification for blocking Kennedy's appointees. Andrew Pincus, a lawyer representing the plaintiffs, urged the court to maintain the current blocking of 13 appointees, arguing that it protected public health.

Murphy's order also blocked the CDC's decision to reduce the number of recommended childhood vaccinations and overturned votes made by ACIP under Kennedy's direction, including a downgrade in the recommended hepatitis B vaccines for newborns and COVID-19 shots. The administration declined to appeal these portions of Murphy's ruling, focusing instead on the blocked appointments.

Since Murphy's decision, ACIP has not convened, canceling two meetings, and another scheduled for October 21-23 is also likely to be cancelled if the committee cannot be reconstituted before then.