By Liz Nass
Gongwer News Service
Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a multistate lawsuit challenging the decision from President Donald Trump’s administration to strip seven childhood vaccines from recommended status.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday names both U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Acting Director Jay Bhattacharya as defendants alongside both departments.
The lawsuit challenges the CDC “Decision Memo” from January that removed vaccines protecting against rotavirus, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus. The lawsuit also challenges the replacement of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which has historically guided vaccine policy.
The suit argues the memo is an ideological attack on routine childhood vaccines, and that it was not based on any new scientific evidence and instead relief on peer countries’ data that ignore differences between the United States and other nations.
The vaccines remain available through shared clinical decision-making and are recommended for all children by the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for the state, also issued a standing recommendation to follow the immunization schedule by the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Family Physicians.
The committee previously eliminated the recommendation for a universal hepatitis B birth dose, which doctors say are 90% effective in preventing perinatal infection when administered within 24 hours of birth.
“Childhood vaccines are proven to save lives, and the overhaul of the nation's immunization schedule has only sown unnecessary confusion and anxiety for parents who are simply trying to make the best, most informed decision for their children,” Nessel said in a statement. “While physicians like Michigan’s very own Dr. Bagdasarian are standing up for kids and following evidence-based recommendations, the CDC cannot be permitted to let politics and unlawful appointments interfere with longstanding public health policy. Our children deserve recommendations that are guided by science, and I will continue working to protect Michigan families and ensure that health decisions remain rooted in facts and in the best interests of our communities.”
Bagdasarian said in a statement that vaccines have played a critical role in prevention and infectious disease and significant reduction in childhood illness and fatalities.
“Recommendations were backed by science and guidance to families and clinicians was clear,” Bagdasarian said. “The recent changes announced by the federal government are causing confusion for families and have contributed to recent declines in vaccination rates. This is hitting some of our communities disproportionately and we have already experienced outbreaks of measles and pertussis in our state. Unless we can increase immunization rates, we will continue to experience outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases, and potentially devastating health impacts.”
The states are asking the court to declare both the committee and the schedule unlawful and vacate the recommendations.
Gongwer News Service
Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a multistate lawsuit challenging the decision from President Donald Trump’s administration to strip seven childhood vaccines from recommended status.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday names both U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Acting Director Jay Bhattacharya as defendants alongside both departments.
The lawsuit challenges the CDC “Decision Memo” from January that removed vaccines protecting against rotavirus, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus. The lawsuit also challenges the replacement of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which has historically guided vaccine policy.
The suit argues the memo is an ideological attack on routine childhood vaccines, and that it was not based on any new scientific evidence and instead relief on peer countries’ data that ignore differences between the United States and other nations.
The vaccines remain available through shared clinical decision-making and are recommended for all children by the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for the state, also issued a standing recommendation to follow the immunization schedule by the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Academy of Family Physicians.
The committee previously eliminated the recommendation for a universal hepatitis B birth dose, which doctors say are 90% effective in preventing perinatal infection when administered within 24 hours of birth.
“Childhood vaccines are proven to save lives, and the overhaul of the nation's immunization schedule has only sown unnecessary confusion and anxiety for parents who are simply trying to make the best, most informed decision for their children,” Nessel said in a statement. “While physicians like Michigan’s very own Dr. Bagdasarian are standing up for kids and following evidence-based recommendations, the CDC cannot be permitted to let politics and unlawful appointments interfere with longstanding public health policy. Our children deserve recommendations that are guided by science, and I will continue working to protect Michigan families and ensure that health decisions remain rooted in facts and in the best interests of our communities.”
Bagdasarian said in a statement that vaccines have played a critical role in prevention and infectious disease and significant reduction in childhood illness and fatalities.
“Recommendations were backed by science and guidance to families and clinicians was clear,” Bagdasarian said. “The recent changes announced by the federal government are causing confusion for families and have contributed to recent declines in vaccination rates. This is hitting some of our communities disproportionately and we have already experienced outbreaks of measles and pertussis in our state. Unless we can increase immunization rates, we will continue to experience outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases, and potentially devastating health impacts.”
The states are asking the court to declare both the committee and the schedule unlawful and vacate the recommendations.
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