
Medical organizations sue RFK Jr., HHS over vaccine policies
The lawsuit was filed in Massachusetts and alleges the removal of healthy children and pregnant women from the recommendation to receive COVID-19 vaccines is part of Kennedy's demonstrated 'pattern of hostility toward established scientific processes.'
Kennedy announced in May that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would no longer be recommending COVID-19 vaccines for healthy children and pregnant women. The agency later updated its guidance to say that healthy children 'may receive' the vaccine, while providing 'no guidance' for pregnant women.
Plaintiffs include the American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, American Public Health Association, Infectious Diseases Society of America, Massachusetts Public Health Association, Massachusetts Public Health Alliance and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.
An unnamed female physician in Massachusetts who is currently pregnant and is seeking a COVID-19 vaccine on the guidance of her doctors, referred to as 'Jane Doe' in the suit, is also suing over the directive.
Along with Kennedy, the lawsuit is also suing Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary, National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya and acting CDC Director Matthew Buzzelli.
The plaintiffs allege that Kennedy's directive to remove children and pregnant women from the COVID-19 vaccine schedule violated the Administrative Procedure Act. They argued his decision was rife with 'arbitrariness and capriciousness,' pointing to his admission that his opinions on vaccines are 'irrelevant' and his belief that people should not be 'taking medical advice' from him.
They pointed to Kennedy's firing and remaking of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices as evidence of his agenda to undermine trust in vaccines.
'This administration is an existential threat to vaccination in America, and those in charge are only just getting started. If left unchecked, Secretary Kennedy will accomplish his goal of ridding the United States of vaccines, which would unleash a wave of preventable harm on our nation's children,' said Richard Hughes, partner at Epstein Becker Green and lead counsel for plaintiffs.
'I will say this is unprecedented. Our clients are not litigious organizations. They don't want to be in court, and certainly we do not like that we're in the position of having to sue the Secretary of Health and Human Services, our nation's chief health officer,' Hughes said. 'So this is a position that I don't think they want to be in, but it's necessary.'
The suit asks that Kennedy's directive be declared unlawful, that COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for pregnant women be restored, and that Kennedy announce the reinstated guidance on the social media platform X.
They also ask that the defendants be blocked from enforcing, publicizing or encouraging Kennedy's directive.
Georges Benjamin, president of the APHA, said the goal of this lawsuit is to 'establish a rational scientific process to get into decision making, to recognizing that the system has worked for many, many, many years in an effective manner. And if you use the evidence and get the guidance of these experts, you'll get a good outcome.'
When reached for comment, an HHS spokesperson said, 'The Secretary stands by his CDC reforms.'
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2 hours ago
Charges dropped against doctor accused of dumping $28,000 in COVID vaccine doses
The federal government on Saturday dismissed charges against a Utah plastic surgeon accused of throwing away COVID-19 vaccines, giving children saline shots instead of the vaccine and selling faked vaccination cards. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post on the social media platform X that charges against Dr. Michael Kirk Moore, of Midvale, Utah, were dismissed at her direction. Moore and other defendants faced up to 35 years in prison after being charged with conspiracy to defraud the government; conspiracy to convert, sell, convey and dispose of government property; and aiding and abetting in those efforts. The charges were brought when Joe Biden was president. 'Dr. Moore gave his patients a choice when the federal government refused to do so,' Bondi wrote. 'He did not deserve the years in prison he was facing. It ends today.' Felice John Viti, acting U.S. attorney for Utah, filed the motion Saturday, saying 'such dismissal is in the interests of justice.' The trial began Monday in Salt Lake City with jury selection. It was expected to last 15 days. Messages sent to the U.S. Department of Justice, Viti's office in Salt Lake City and to Moore were not immediately returned Saturday to The Associated Press. A federal grand jury on Jan. 11, 2023, returned an indictment against Moore, his Plastic Surgery Institute of Utah Inc., others associated with the clinic and a neighbor of Moore's. The indictment alleged more than $28,000 of government-provided COVID-19 vaccine doses were destroyed. They were also accused of providing fraudulently completed vaccination record cards for over 1,900 doses of the vaccine in exchange for either a cash or a donation to a specified charitable organization. The government also alleged some children were given saline shots, at their parents' request, so the minors believed they were getting the vaccine. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., a leading anti-vaccine activist before becoming the nation's top health official, posted his support for Moore in April, saying on X that Moore "deserves a medal for his courage and his commitment to healing!' During his confirmation hearings in January, Kennedy repeatedly refused to acknowledge scientific consensus that childhood vaccines don't cause autism and that COVID-19 vaccines saved millions of lives.


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3 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
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