“The government ignored scientific methods”: a judge suspends the overhaul of Trump’s vaccine policy

Hard blow for the Trump administration: a federal judge on Monday suspended the overhaul of American vaccine policy initiated by Donald Trump’s Minister of Health, vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy Jr.

“The American government ignored scientific methods and thereby compromised the integrity of its action,” said this Massachusetts judge. It blocked, at least temporarily, several changes made by the Trump administration to vaccination recommendations and schedules.

This suspension follows a complaint filed last July by several healthcare associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the American Infectious Disease Society (IDSA), which accused Minister Robert Kennedy Jr. of having broken the law by changing vaccine recommendations on Covid-19.

In May 2025, the latter announced on his social networks that the federal authorities would no longer recommend vaccines against Covid-19 to children and pregnant women. The judge suspends the changes made to the vaccination schedule by a committee of experts after the latter was completely overhauled by RFK Jr.

The Trump administration will appeal

Now made up of personalities many criticized for their lack of expertise or for having relayed vaccine skeptic theories, this Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has turned American vaccine recommendations upside down, in particular by ceasing to recommend the hepatitis B vaccine to all newborns, against the advice of many caregivers. The judge’s decision also suspends its activities, thus canceling its meeting scheduled for later this week.

The Trump administration will most likely appeal this decision, which should pave the way for a long legal drama.

Known for his anti-vaccine positions, since taking office, Minister of Health Robert Kennedy Jr has initiated a broad review of vaccines, some of which have been used for decades, overhauled the pediatric vaccination schedule and cut funding for the development of new vaccines, all measures strongly condemned by the medical and scientific community.