Attorney General Clark Joins Lawsuit Challenging the Unlawful Overhaul of Federal Childhood Immunization Policy

Attorney General Charity Clark today announced that Vermont has joined an ongoing lawsuit brought by a coalition of attorneys general against U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., challenging HHS's rollback of the nation's long-standing childhood vaccination schedule.

The lawsuit, originally filed in February 2026, challenges a CDC "Decision Memo" dated January 05, 2026, that stripped seven childhood vaccines-those protecting against rotavirus, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, influenza, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)-of their universally recommended status. Attorney General Clark and the coalition are arguing that the updated recommendations run afoul of decades of scientific evidence, omit expert and public input required by law, and will critically threaten the health and wellbeing of children.

The lawsuit was amended and refiled on October 2, 2026, to clarify why the changes to ACIP had injured the plaintiff states - including causing states like Vermont to amend state law to no longer follow Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendations exclusively.

The coalition is also challenging Secretary Kennedy's decision to abruptly fire all seventeen voting members of the ACIP in June 2025, and his subsequent replacement of the voting members with individuals who lack the scientific qualifications required by ACIP's charter and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). In December 2025, the reconstituted ACIP reversed nearly thirty years of CDC policy by eliminating the recommendation for a universal hepatitis B birth dose-a vaccine that is up to 90 percent effective in preventing perinatal infection when administered within 24 hours of birth.

While Vermont law no longer requires following the ACIP recommendations, the misinformation issued by Secretary Kennedy can cause lower vaccination rates which lead directly to higher rates of infectious disease, placing greater strains on Vermont's Medicaid programs and public health systems. All vaccines previously recommended on the CDC's pre-Kennedy childhood immunization schedule remain safe and effective, and they are critical for protecting Vermont's children and public health.

The coalition argues that the Secretary's changes are arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law, in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. They are asking the court to declare the new vaccine schedule unlawful, to throw out Secretary Kennedy's appointments to ACIP, and reverse the committee's hepatitis B decision.

In filing this amended complaint, Attorney General Clark joins the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and the Governor of Pennsylvania.

Today's lawsuit is the 75th case Attorney General Clark has brought against the Trump Administration since President Trump took office in January 2025. For more information on actions taken by the Attorney General on behalf of Vermonters, visit our website.