(CNN) — Seven prominent medical associations on Monday sued to reverse changes to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s childhood vaccine recommendations.
The lawsuit was brought by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, the American Public Health Association, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the Massachusetts Public Health Association, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Earlier this month, the US Department of Health and Human Services announced changes to the vaccine schedule for American children that narrowed recommendations for vaccinations against meningococcal disease, hepatitis B and hepatitis A to people at higher risk for infections. The updated CDC schedule also recommends that decisions on vaccinations against flu, Covid-19 and rotavirus be based on “shared clinical decision-making,” which means people who want one must consult with a health care provider. HHS said that all insurers will still cover these vaccines.
When there were previous changes to the government’s vaccine recommendations, new evidence published in the scientific literature or presented by vaccine makers would be evaluated by the CDC’s vaccine advisers, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP.
But that wasn’t the case with the latest changes; no new evidence was brought to the committee to challenge the safety or effectiveness of the recommended vaccines. Rather, the decision was made in the wake of an order from President Donald Trump to HHS to review the US childhood vaccination schedule along with those of other developed nations. The new US vaccine schedule resembles the schedule in Denmark.
The lawsuit, filed Monday in US District Court in Massachusetts, calls the overhaul of the vaccine schedule “egregious, reckless, and dangerous” and says it should be declared unlawful.
“Defendants failed to…