Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he’s suing the Trump administration over the changes made to the CDC’s recommended childhood vaccine schedule.
“I’m suing the Trump Administration to challenge their illegal overhaul of the @CDCgov’s long-standing recommendations for children’s vaccinations. Donald Trump and RFK Jr.’s blatant disregard for science threatens public health and erodes trust in our institutions,” Shapiro said.
“My Administration will continue to rely on qualified experts like the @AmerAcadPeds to lead the guidance Pennsylvanians receive to keep themselves and their families healthy,” he added.
BREAKING: I’m suing the Trump Administration to challenge their illegal overhaul of the @CDCgov's long-standing recommendations for children's vaccinations.
— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) February 24, 2026
Donald Trump and RFK Jr.’s blatant disregard for science threatens public health and erodes trust in our institutions.
My…
“This is a publicity stunt dressed up as a lawsuit. By law, the health secretary has clear authority to make determinations on the CDC immunization schedule and the composition of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The CDC immunization schedule reforms reflect common-sense public health policy shared by peer, developed countries,” HHS Rapid Response stated.
This is a publicity stunt dressed up as a lawsuit. By law, the health secretary has clear authority to make determinations on the CDC immunization schedule and the composition of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The CDC immunization schedule reforms reflect… https://t.co/66Ti9PHgp3
— HHS Rapid Response (@HHSResponse) February 25, 2026
Altogether, 15 states have joined the lawsuit over the changes made to the recommended childhood vaccine schedule.
“California is co-leading a multi-state lawsuit against the Center for Disease Control (CDC), U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and others for violating federal law and advancing vaccine policies unsupported by science,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office stated.
AGs from AZ and CA sue feds over childhood vaccine overhaul https://t.co/CJCGnu8hGC
— John Solomon (@jsolomonReports) February 25, 2026
More from Newsom’s office:
Last month, Governor Newsom announced that California became the first state to join the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN), strengthening public health preparedness and rapid response coordination as the Trump administration pulled the U.S. from WHO.
In December 2025, Governor Newsom announced the launch of the Public Health Network Innovation Exchange (PHNIX), a new California-led initiative to modernize public health infrastructure and maintain trust in science-driven decision-making. To lead this work, the state engaged some of the nation’s most respected public health voices, including Dr. Susan Monarez, former Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Dr. Debra Houry, former CDC Chief Medical Officer; and Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, founder and CEO of Your Local Epidemiologist, to work with and advise California’s public health leaders.
In October 2025, Governor Newsom joined 14 other Governors in launching the Governors Public Health Alliance, a new non-partisan hub coordinating public health leadership across the country. The Alliance helps to strengthen emergency preparedness, improve communication, facilitate sharing data and expertise, and ensure states and territories can respond quickly and consistently to emerging health threats.
In September 2025, California also joined the states of Oregon, Hawaii, and Washington in launching the West Coast Health Alliance. Through this partnership, the four states have coordinated health guidelines by aligning immunization recommendations informed by respected national medical organizations, allowing residents to receive consistent, science-based recommendations they can rely on — regardless of shifting federal actions.
“California is going back to court because the Trump administration is violating federal law and pushing a reckless, unscientific childhood vaccine schedule that puts kids’ lives at risk. These changes ignore decades of medical evidence and will lead to outbreaks of diseases we’ve already beaten. We will not stand by while politics overrides science and endangers our children. Just as we’ve done before, we’re standing up — alongside 14 other states — to defend the law, protect public health, and keep our kids safe,” Newsom said.
15 States Sue RFK Jr. Over Changes To Vaccine Schedule https://t.co/CbnuKvHHDS
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 26, 2026
The Epoch Times explained further:
A separate lawsuit, lodged in 2025 by health organizations, also seeks to block the revised schedule as well as Kennedy’s remaking of the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee.
U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy, who heard from the parties during a hearing in Boston earlier in February, has not yet ruled on the request as he considers whether to allow Children’s Health Defense, an organization previously founded by Kennedy, to intervene in the case in support of the government.
Government lawyers have said in filings in that case that the vaccine schedule was reasonably updated based on recommendations from top health officials, including Dr. Tracy Beth Hoeg, acting director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
President Donald Trump ordered a comparison of the U.S. vaccine schedule with those of other countries, and it showed the United States was a global outlier among peer nations in routinely recommending vaccines against hepatitis A and certain other diseases, Hoeg said.
A memorandum signed by then-CDC Acting Director Jim O’Neill said the update was needed to increase public trust in vaccines.
The government has also said Kennedy’s replacement of vaccine advisory committee members was legal because members hold a variety of jobs and have put forth “complex and nuanced perspectives.”
The attorneys general of 14 states—Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin—all Democrats, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, also a Democrat, are the plaintiffs in the new suit.
