The New Jersey Office of the Attorney General (NJOAG) has joined 15 other states in suing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) over its “radical and unlawful overhaul” of the county’s immunization policies and guidelines.
The lawsuit challenges a Jan. 5 “Decision Memo” from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that stripped seven vital childhood vaccines of their universally recommended status:
- Rotavirus
- Meningitis
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Influenza
- COVID-19
- Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
The complaint also challenges the unlawful replacement of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) with individuals allegedly unqualified, according to the legal document. The complaint names:
- HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
- Acting CDC and Prevention Director Jay Bhattacharya
- The CDC
- The HHS
Aside from New Jersey, the lawsuit was filed by attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin, and the governor of Pennsylvania.
Six federal healthcare organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, filed a similar lawsuit in late January.
NJ: It’s About Protecting Children
The CDC’s childhood immunization schedule, which previously recommended vaccines for 18 diseases, now recommends vaccines for 11 diseases.
“Protecting children is a priority for our office. Compare that to the Trump Administration and Secretary Kennedy, whose reckless approach to public health policy gambles with children’s lives and puts our communities in danger. RFK Jr. replaced established experts with an unqualified vaccine panel and issued a rogue vaccine schedule that gambles with children’s health and lives,” New Jersey Acting Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said in a press release.
New Jersey’s state immunization guidance is unaffected and remains grounded in scientific best practices and evidence.
“Still, the Trump Administration’s attacks on established science undermine public trust and may result in lower vaccination rates that would lead directly to higher rates of infectious disease,” according to the release.
“For New Jersey and other states, this means a greater strain on Medicaid programs, more taxpayer funds spent combating misinformation, and wasted resources decoupling state laws, regulations, and public guidance from ACIP’s and CDC’s now-untrustworthy recommendations.”
Lawsuit: HHS Lacks Scientific Expertise
In June 2025, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “abruptly fired all ACIP voting members” and replaced them with unqualified professionals lacking the scientific qualifications required by ACIP’s own charter and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).
At least nine of the 13 current ACIP members lack the expertise or professional qualifications required for the role, and a majority have publicly expressed anti-vaccine views, according to the NJOAG.
“This radical and unlawful overhaul of the nation’s childhood vaccine schedule rests on fringe theories and ignores decades of science. I will continue to protect New Jersey families from these senseless attacks on science and their children’s health,” Davenport added.
In January, the American Academy of Pediatrics and several other medical groups filed a lawsuit, asking a federal judge to rule that the CDC’s changes to the childhood immunization schedule were unlawful. The suit argues that HHS violated the law by bypassing the required scientific review and public input processes.
“Public trust in vaccines is built on transparency, stability, and evidence-based clinical guidance. But that trust is fragile,” said Acting Health Commissioner Raynard E. Washington.
“As someone who’s spent a career working to build that trust, it’s indefensible that our federal health institutions are now undermining it. These reckless vaccine policies not only hurt public trust, but they will also lead to preventable suffering and death. New Jersey will continue to follow scientific and medical consensus and challenge actions that threaten the health of our state,” Washington added.
Misinformation, Confusion, and Uncertainty
In December 2025, the reconstituted ACIP reversed nearly 30 years of CDC policy by eliminating the recommendation for a universal hepatitis B birth dose — a vaccine that is up to 90% effective in preventing perinatal infection when administered within 24 hours of birth, the NJOAG said.
Shortly thereafter, the CDC expanded its ideological attack on routine childhood vaccines. On Jan. 5, 2026, then-Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill — who has no medical or scientific background — signed off on a “Decision Memo” that demoted seven vaccines from the universally recommended childhood vaccination schedule to a lesser status that invites confusion and uncertainty.
“Contrary to Secretary Kennedy’s misinformation and insinuation, vaccines previously recommended on the CDC’s childhood immunization schedule remain safe and effective, and they are critical for protecting America’s children and public health at large,” per the statement.
Decision Memo: Lacked New Evidence, Ignored Available Data
The Decision Memo was not based on any new scientific evidence, any recommendation by a lawfully constituted ACIP, or any systematic review of the available data. The memo ignored the overwhelming evidence supporting the effectiveness of the CDC’s pre-Kennedy childhood immunization schedule, per the release.
New Jersey’s state immunization guidance is unaffected and remains grounded in scientific best practices and evidence.
“Still, the Trump Administration’s attacks on established science undermine public trust and may result in lower vaccination rates that would lead directly to higher rates of infectious disease. For New Jersey and other states, this means a greater strain on Medicaid programs, more taxpayer funds spent combating misinformation, and wasted resources decoupling state laws, regulations, and public guidance from ACIP’s and CDC’s now-untrustworthy recommendations,” per the statement.
What The Plantiffs Want
The plaintiff states are asking the court to declare the Kennedy Schedule and the Kennedy ACIP appointments unlawful, and to enjoin, vacate, and set aside both the new immunization schedule and the unlawful appointments.
NJ’s Davenport is joined in this lawsuit with the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin, and the Governor of Pennsylvania.