A federal judge in Boston on Monday issued a temporary order preventing federal health authorities from reducing the list of vaccines recommended for children nationwide. In the same ruling, the judge said U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. likely failed to follow required federal procedures when he reorganized a key advisory panel that provides guidance on vaccination policy.

The ruling suspends a directive Kennedy announced in January that would have eliminated the universal recommendation that children receive several routine vaccines, including those protecting against influenza, rotavirus, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, certain meningitis strains, and RSV.

Major medical organizations quickly raised concerns about the policy shift. The American Academy of Pediatrics and several other groups revised a lawsuit they had originally filed in July, urging the court to intervene and block the government from reducing the standard childhood immunization schedule used across the country.

In addition, the judge determined that Kennedy’s restructuring of the federal vaccine advisory committee likely did not comply with federal law. As a result, the court ordered that the new appointments to the panel — along with any decisions made by the reorganized group — be paused until further legal review.

{Matzav.com}