Under Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has seen a complete structural overhaul.
From the firings of long-standing experts to aggressive vaccine changes, it’s been a year of rapid shifts for the agency. While some of the changes were passed without a hitch, others were met with significant pushback. The courts recently temporarily halted one of the administration’s most controversial efforts, which called for a complete overhaul of the nation’s vaccine agenda.
On March 16, a federal judge in Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction blocking the proposed vaccine schedule changes and barring newly appointed members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) from voting on or issuing national recommendations.
Six weeks later, the Department of Justice officially moved to challenge the court order. On April 29, HHS filed an appeal to overturn the injunction, but the administration’s legal hurdles continue to mount.
HHS also revised the ACIP charter in early April, broadening the committee’s focus with new language emphasizing disease “symptomatology” and identifying “gaps in vaccine safety research, including adverse effects.”
Despite these administrative shifts, the lawsuit filed against the department remains in motion in district court. Recent attempts by the government to freeze the proceedings were unsuccessful.
In May, Judge Murphy denied the government’s request to hold the case until the injunction is resolved. HHS must now defend its appeal in a higher court while simultaneously litigating the core of the case in district court.
Inside The Dramatic Breakdown And ACIP Resignation
This legal setback sparked internal tension within the agency. ACIP Vice Chair Dr. Robert Malone resigned four days after the federal injunction. His resignation followed a public feud with an HHS spokesperson.
The tension from the legal ruling spilled over onto the social media platform X. Dr. Malone posted that RFK Jr. planned to form a new committee and would not appeal the court’s decision.
“ACIP has been disbanded,” Dr. Malone wrote. “The government’s response to the AAP lawsuit and Judge Murphy’s injunction is to recreate a new ACIP committee, as this will take less time than would be required to file and prosecute an appeal. There will be no action from the government to respond to the defamatory characterization of the former ACIP members.”
Shortly after his post, HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon released a statement rebutting Malone’s claim. “Unless officially announced by us, any assertions about what we are doing next is baseless speculation.”
Dr. Malone publicly resigned following the official remarks, citing Nixon’s comments as the final insult.
“After Andrew trashing me with the press, I am done with the CDC and ACIP,” Malone told Roll Call in a series of text messages. “That was the last straw. Suffice to say I do not like drama and have better things to do.”
In a statement to the New York Times, Dr. Malone reiterated the sentiment. “Hundreds of hours of uncompensated labor, incredible hate from many quarters, hostile press, internal bickering, weaponized leaking, sabotage—I have better things to do,” he said.
How Did HHS Get To This Point?
Summer 2025 marked a turning point in executive leadership across the country. Behind the headlines, the Trump administration moved swiftly on government restructuring and large-scale federal layoffs.
Following a presidential memorandum, RFK Jr. removed all 17 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) ACIP. Prior to the current administration, no HHS secretary had replaced the entire ACIP membership at once in the committee’s 62-year history.
The ACIP is a panel that advises the CDC on national vaccine policy. The committee sets the official vaccine schedule for children, adolescents and adults. Their recommendations influence both public health guidance and insurance coverage decisions nationwide.
Candidates typically underwent a rigorous, yearlong vetting process. The screening included extensive conflict-of-interest reviews and evaluations of their scientific contributions.
Who Are The Newly Appointed Vaccine Committee Members?
The 13 new committee members appointed drew widespread criticism. Opponents argued they lacked broad vaccine-policy expertise and held views aimed at dismantling established immunization standards.
The now-suspended appointees included several outspoken vaccine critics. Among them were Dr. Robert Malone, Dr. Martin Kulldorff, Vicky Pebsworth, and Retsef Levi. The panel also included industry representatives, such as Hillary Blackburn, director of medication access and affordability at AscensionRx.
Dr. Malone publicly questioned the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine and the severity of the pandemic before resigning from the committee. Echoing his sentiments, Dr. Kulldorff, a biostatistician and former Harvard Medical School professor, claimed in a post on X that he was terminated from Harvard after refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.
Pebsworth, a registered nurse and executive at the National Vaccine Information Center, which is a nonprofit that has drawn criticism for promoting vaccine injury narratives and opposing mainstream immunization policy. She also serves as the Pacific Region Director for the National Association of Catholic Nurses.
The court ruled that the appointees did not represent a “fairly balanced” point of view. In a 45-page memorandum, the federal judge noted that the members “appear to lack any expertise or professional qualifications related to vaccines or immunization as required by ACIP’s Charter.”
“Of the fifteen members currently on ACIP, even under the most generous reading, only six appear to have any meaningful experience in vaccines,” said Judge Murphy.
The Sweeping Policy Changes RFK Jr. And The ACIP Committee Made To Federal Vaccine Policy
Prior to the federal suspension, the members voted to narrow vaccine recommendations and policy.
Guidance on COVID-19 boosters changed. It shifted from “universally recommended” to “shared clinical decision-making.” Doctors could only give the booster if requested or based on a patient’s individual health risks.
The committee also narrowed the list of vaccines recommended for all U.S. children. The CDC formally adopted a revised childhood immunization schedule, reducing routine vaccines from 18 diseases to 11. It also changed HPV vaccine guidance, cutting the recommendation from two or three doses to a single dose.
HHS removed six vaccines from the list of universally recommended shots. The vaccines excluded were for preventing Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B (the birth dose for newborns), Influenza, Rotavirus, RSV, and certain types of Meningitis. The agency also reversed its long-standing recommendation that all newborns receive a Hepatitis B shot within 24 hours of birth. The suspended guidance would limit vaccination to infants whose mothers test positive for the virus.
While prenatal Hepatitis B screening is the standard of care and legally required in many states, physician groups note that it is not always reliably implemented in practice. They describe the hepatitis B birth dose as a “universal safety net” that helps close gaps when maternal screening is missed or incomplete.
The Vaccine And HHS Changes Still Active
All vaccine policy changes enacted by the new ACIP are in legal limbo following the March 16 ruling. The court halted all policies and recommendations initiated by the committee appointed by RFK Jr.
The court reverted national immunization standards to the previously established guidelines. As a result, the CDC’s childhood immunization schedule from January 2025 remains the current standard .
The ruling mandated a return to the previous 17-vaccine series. It reinstated both the Hepatitis B “universal safety net” birth dose and the routine recommendations for rotavirus, influenza and RSV.
HHS indicated it will fight to have the decision overturned with an appeal to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. However, while policy changes linger in court, the agency has shifted focus to vaccine monitoring.
RFK Jr. revised the ACIP charter, adjusting its stated priorities to place increased focus on vaccine safety monitoring after approval.
Who Did RFK Jr. Remove From The ACIP Committee?
The Secretary of Health and Human Services appoints and confirms ACIP members. Members serve staggered terms to maintain continuity and reduce outside political pressure.
The Biden administration appointed 13 of the 17 original members to four-year fixed terms in 2024, setting a 2028 turnover timeline.
The committee removed under RFK Jr. was chaired by Dr. Helen “Keipp” Talbot, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University. Other members included Dr. Helen Chu, an immunologist and professor at the University of Washington.
The group also included Dr. Noel Brewer, a behavioral scientist at the University of North Carolina who specializes in the study of vaccine uptake, and Camille Kotton, an infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor at Harvard Medical School.
Other former members included Drexel University professor Sarah Long, and Wilbur Chen, an adult infectious disease expert at the University of Maryland.
The court order has not reinstated the 17 members removed in June 2025. The new ACIP appointees remain in place, but they cannot perform voting duties.
