A coalition of public health groups on Monday sued Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his May order that rescinds COVID-19 vaccine guidance for pregnant women and children.
Kennedy claimed in a video announcing the decision on May 27 that the Biden administration had made the recommendation for healthy children and pregnant women to get another COVID-19 booster shot without clinical data to support the booster strategy.
The coalition is now seeking to overturn the secretary’s decision, arguing that the order makes it more difficult for pregnant women to themselves and their children because medical professionals are sometimes legally bound to federal vaccine recommendations, the Washington Post reported.
The lawsuit also argued Kennedy, a known vaccine skeptic, “has demonstrated a clear pattern of hostility toward established scientific processes, a disregard for expert guidance, an affinity for placing persons who align with his anti-vaccination views in positions of authority at HHS and a reliance on bias and pretext to further his apparent agenda: to undermine trust in vaccines and reduce the rate of vaccinations in this country.”
The plaintiffs additionally argue that Kennedy made the decision without following proper federal agency policy, which gives them grounds to bring the lawsuit through the Administrative Procedure Act.
The lawsuit names Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary and National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya as co-defendants.
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.
