Several medical organizations filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as well as other government officials on Monday, alleging that a new department directive is unlawful and harms the physician-patient relationship, among other claims.
The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians and other health organizations brought the suit in response to a directive issued by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in early May that removed the COVID-19 vaccine from the list of recommended vaccinations for healthy children and pregnant women. The initiative was punctuated by a video announcement on X later that month.
Plaintiffs believe that Kennedy’s directive violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) by being “arbitrary” and “capricious” as well as not complying with the law.
Health organizations argued the directive is arbitrary and capricious as defined in the APA, in part because Kennedy did not explain his reasoning behind issuing the directive. They pointed to how Kennedy “failed to identify the available science or evidence that prompted him to issue the Directive when he did.”
As to the second count, the complaint maintained that the directive does not comply with the law because it “contravenes” the statutory regime created by Congress regarding vaccines. The group believes the directive goes against Congress’s intention that “political appointees like the Secretary” should not “meddle in deciding what vaccines are on the CDC’s immunization schedules.”
Moreover, plaintiffs alleged that the directive has “adversely affected the physician-patient relationship” because it has placed “misinformation, uncertainty, and confusion into that relationship.” Plaintiffs went on to caution that the directive will “result in decreased rates of vaccination, increased rates of transmission, long-lasting illness, and ultimately deaths among pregnant women, unborn children, and all children–deaths that could have been prevented.”
Organizations ultimately asked that the directive be declared unlawful and that COVID-19 vaccine recommendations be restored for pregnant women and healthy children. The group also requested injunctive relief to prevent defendants from carrying out the terms of the directive.
In early April of this year, HHS and Secretary Kennedy were defendants in another lawsuit that was filed by US Democratic attorneys. That lawsuit alleged the unexpected termination of $11 billion in public health funding was unlawful and harmful. In May, a federal judge issued a preliminarily injunction on the potential funding roll backs.
English (US) ·