On March 16 U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy of Massachusetts issued a 45-page ruling blocking the sweeping changes to the nation’s childhood immunization schedule, declaring unlawful and improper the dismantling of an independent advisory panel in order to appoint unscientific zealots, and siding with major medical organizations to reestablish science-based decision-making. The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by the American Academy of Pediatrics and other leading health groups.
The judge has put a halt to virtually all changes involving vaccine policy, but this is seen as temporary, as further court battles are expected over who will have the authority to establish public health standards and how federal vaccine recommendations should be made. The judge temporarily suspended the appointment of 13 of the 15 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) on the basis that they were not appointed properly.
