New York Joins 16 States Suing Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

New York has joined 15 other states and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro in a lawsuit against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to restore universal childhood vaccine recommendations. The amended complaint, filed October 2, 2026, in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that the HHS Secretary ignored scientific evidence and bypassed legal requirements for public input and expert review.

The legal challenge targets a January 2026 decision that reduced routine childhood immunization recommendations from 17 to 11, removing universal guidance for seven vaccines, including those for influenza, COVID-19, and hepatitis A and B. The states also challenge a June 2025 action in which Kennedy fired all 17 voting members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunisation Practices and replaced them with his own appointees.

New York Attorney General Letitia James stated that families deserve guidance grounded in science and that abrupt changes put children's health at risk. While this lawsuit proceeds, a separate case brought by the American Academy of Paediatrics previously secured a preliminary injunction in Massachusetts to stay the schedule changes, a ruling that is currently under appeal in the First Circuit.