California Plans Legal Challenge to Trump-Era Vaccine Policy Overhaul

The state of California is preparing a lawsuit challenging recent federal changes to childhood vaccine recommendations implemented under the Trump administration, the state's attorney general, Rob Bonta, said in an interview on Tuesday.

 

Bonta, who serves as the attorney general of the United States’ most populous state, indicated he might be open to working with the Trump administration and US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to limit broad federal immunity for drug companies over alleged vaccine injuries. HHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

 

A California lawsuit targeting the childhood vaccination schedule would increase legal pressure on the administration, as medical organisations and public health experts have warned that the changes could lower vaccination rates.

 

Kennedy has significantly altered longstanding vaccine policies since taking office last year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new immunisation schedule removing universal recommendations for vaccines against rotavirus, influenza, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A and hepatitis B, advising instead that parents consult healthcare providers under what it calls “shared clinical decision-making.”

 

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and other leading medical bodies have filed lawsuits seeking to halt the new schedule, arguing the overhaul was illegal and not evidence-based. The litigation aims to replace the Kennedy-appointed Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and overturn its decisions.

 

In an interview with Reuters on Tuesday, Bonta and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong both criticised Kennedy’s views on vaccines. Discussing new litigation, Bonta said his “team is mobilised” and is “looking at what the complaint looks like, where to file, what our standing is, all the things we have to have locked in.”

 

Bonta provided no further details on the planned lawsuit, including its filing date. Tong added that “we’re scrambling our jets,” and a spokesman for his office confirmed that Connecticut is working with California on a potential multistate filing.

 

Under US law, most claims of vaccine injury must be filed in a specialised vaccine court run by HHS, which aims to resolve claims quickly while capping compensation and limiting company liability. The programme has long been targeted by Kennedy and his allies, partly because HHS, rather than pharmaceutical companies, defends these cases. Before leading HHS, Kennedy represented plaintiffs claiming vaccine injuries and was heavily involved in mass litigation against Merck over its Gardasil vaccine, where a US judge ultimately ruled in Merck’s favour in many cases.

 

Bonta expressed scepticism over broad immunities granted by Congress to specific corporate sectors, including vaccine makers, but stressed he did not want to promote anti-vaccine views. “I like the facts. I like science. I don’t want to give any airtime to his—I mean, just conspiracy nonsense,” he said.

 

“Can there be an example of a pharmaceutical company that did something wrong, and hurt people based on the facts, and they’re enjoying absolute immunity when they should have accountability? Yes, that’s possible,” Bonta added.

 

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