A federal appeals court is considering whether a trial judge went too far by blocking 13 appointees from serving on the committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine policy.
The Trump administration asked the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to vacate that part of a March injunction. Its lawyer said the order has left the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices without a quorum and has discouraged Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from making replacement appointments that might also be challenged.
The dispute began after Kennedy removed the committee’s previous members and appointed a new group. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical organizations sued over the appointments and later policy changes. U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy concluded that the selection process did not comply with the Federal Advisory Committee Act’s requirement for balanced membership and barred 13 appointees from serving.
The appeal is narrower than the underlying case. The administration did not ask the First Circuit to restore CDC changes that reduced the number of routinely recommended childhood vaccines, or to reinstate committee votes concerning hepatitis B and Covid-19 vaccines. Those portions of the district court’s order remain outside this appeal.
At the hearing, Chief Judge David Barron questioned whether the injunction adequately explained the legal basis and purpose for excluding the appointees. Counsel for the medical groups said the restriction was necessary to protect public health while the legality of the committee’s composition is resolved.
No decision was issued from the bench. The panel’s task is not to decide vaccine policy or choose committee members. It is to determine whether the district court had authority to impose this particular form of interim relief and whether the findings support it.
The practical consequences are immediate. The committee has already canceled meetings, and another session is scheduled for October 21 to 23. A ruling that leaves the injunction intact could prolong the lack of a quorum; vacating it would allow the department to reconstitute the panel while the broader litigation continues.
