Democratic States Sue Trump Administration Over Weakening of National Vaccination Schedule

A coalition of fifteen U.S. states, led by Democrats, launched a broad legal battle on Tuesday against the administration of President Donald Trump. The subject of the lawsuit is the controversial changes to the national childhood immunization schedule, which Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. implemented in January of this year. In the lawsuit, filed by 14 state attorneys general and the Governor of Pennsylvania, the plaintiffs demand the annulment of the decision, which limits the number of diseases against which children in the U.S. are routinely immunized. The federal vaccination schedule in the United States is developed by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) operating under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ACIP consists of medical experts, and its recommendations, after approval by the CDC director, constitute official guidelines for doctors and state vaccination programs. This process has been based on scientific consensus for decades. The Kennedy family has long been significant in American politics, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., son of the assassinated senator, was initially known as an environmental lawyer before becoming involved in the vaccine-skeptic movement. The states argue that these changes, made after a radical reform of the advisory committee's composition, will create confusion, increase the risk of infectious disease outbreaks, and further burden state healthcare budgets. „medical organizations and public health experts warn the changes could lower inoculation rates” — Reuters. The lawsuit cited by Bloomberg states that the changes "will make people sicker". In response to the escalating conflict, the CDC has scheduled a meeting of its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for March 18-19, after previously canceling a February date. Meanwhile, the latest scientific research indicates that declining vaccination trends were occurring even before the official change in federal policy. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that between 2023 and 2025, the percentage of newborns vaccinated against hepatitis B within 30 days of birth fell by over 10 percentage points. This decline occurred before the CDC's December decision to abandon its long-standing, broad recommendation for these vaccinations. This data suggests that the shift in societal attitudes towards vaccinations may be a broader phenomenon, independent of current administrative decisions.

Perspektywy mediów: Liberal media and Democratic states frame the case as a battle of science versus ideology, highlighting risks to public health and a departure from established medical standards. Conservative circles and the Trump administration may present the change as a restoration of parental choice freedom and a reform of a rigid medical establishment that questions the safety of certain vaccines.