RFK Jr. appeals ruling that wiped out his vaccine advisory panel

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee in the Rayburn House Office Building on June 24, 2025, in Washington, DC. Credit: Getty | Kayla Bartkowski

After some uncertainty—and a little drama—the Trump administration is appealing a ruling by a judge last month that temporarily halted anti-vaccine changes Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy had implemented at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those changes include filling a key vaccine advisory panel with dubious anti-vaccine allies and unilaterally slashing childhood vaccine recommendations.

On March 16, US District Judge Brian Murphy issued a temporary injunction on those changes, essentially blocking the appointment of Kennedy’s advisors, nullifying all votes they made on federal vaccine policy, and undoing the changes to the CDC childhood vaccination schedule. Murphy ruled that Kennedy’s advisors were unqualified, and their appointment and the ...