All Major US Physicians' Groups say "Enough is Enough" and Break with RFK Jr's HHS and CDC
America's Doctors are standing up for patient safety: here's who is standing up for you and how you can help.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services who is known for his long-standing skepticism of vaccines, has enacted sweeping reforms that have not only undermined established public health practice, but have also led to typically conservative, generations-old medical organizations, taking a public stand to protect the health of all Americans.
Since RFK Jr’s appointment the federal government has enacted - at the risk of sounding hyperbolic - ludicrous changes to vaccine policy. The medical and scientific community at large has now broken with the HHS and the CDC guidelines (a branch of HHS) due to unlawful and nonscientific changes that are widely recognized as a fundamental threat to the health and safety of American citizens.
Illegal HHS Activities Under RFK Jr In The Last 6 Months
Numerous actions taken under RFK Jr.'s leadership are alleged to violate federal law, procedural norms, and scientific standards. The major activities flagged by several long-standing medical authorities include:
Ignoring public health threats: Actions such as rolling back routine vaccine recommendations—contradicting strong scientific evidence supporting vaccination for the prevention of diseases like measles and pertussis—are described as reckless and a threat to vulnerable populations, particularly children and pregnant women.
Issuing non-evidence-based recommendations: The new Kennedy-led panel immediately recommended against receiving flu vaccines containing thimerosal, reviving old disputes disconnected from scientific consensus. More than 200 studies across several decades including millions of children have established thimerosal’s safety in vaccines.
Abuse of procedural processes: The HHS, under Kennedy, canceled regular meetings of vaccine advisory committees without explanation, blocked CDC communications, and ordered studies to investigate disproven links between vaccines and autism. Such maneuvers are seen as direct violations of regulations requiring open and transparent policymaking.
Unilateral changes to COVID-19 vaccine policy: On May 27, 2025, Secretary Kennedy removed the CDC's recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination for healthy children and pregnant women. These changes were enacted without consulting the federally mandated vaccine advisory groups and without providing a clear evidence-based rationale.
Dismissal and replacement of expert advisory committees: Kennedy eliminated all 17 members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)—the key independent panel responsible for ensuring transparent, scientific evaluation of vaccine schedules. The replacements included several individuals associated with anti-vaccine advocacy and lacking proper expertise.
Top US Medical Agencies Are Breaking From CDC Recommendations
In response to these actions, prominent health agencies have taken unprecedented steps to break with CDC guidance. Leading organizations are now either issue their own independent recommendations or have actively warned against adopting new CDC vaccine policies. Notable agencies include:
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): The preeminent children's health organization continues to recommend COVID-19 immunization for children and pregnant women and has published an evidence-based schedule at odds with CDC directives.
American College of Physicians (ACP): Representing internal medicine specialists, the ACP has distanced itself from CDC guidance, citing lack of scientific foundation and transparency.
Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA): Experts specializing in the control of infectious diseases have criticized new CDC vaccine policies and joined lawsuits against the administration.
American Public Health Association (APHA): A leading advocate for public health, APHA has condemned changes as a danger to community well-being.
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM): Specialists in maternal health emphasize that the new guidance puts pregnant patients and infants at risk.
Massachusetts Public Health Alliance (MPHA): This alliance has highlighted public health harms, especially to children and vulnerable populations.
Other groups—such as the American Medical Association (AMA), American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), and National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) have similarly been sidelined from CDC policymaking under the current administration and have expressed deep concern about the loss of adherence to basic scientific standards.
Here is an exhaustive list of the agencies with links to the reasoning behind their departure from CDC based guidelines:
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) CDC dropped COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women; AAP claims decisions are not based on science
American College of Physicians (ACP) Unilateral changes with no evidence-based review and dismissal of expert advisory panel
Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Replacement of CDC vaccine experts with individuals lacking relevant expertise or holding anti-vaccine views
American Public Health Association (APHA) Flouting of scientific processes and threats to national public health infrastructure
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) CDC changes endanger pregnant patients and ignore clinical data showing benefits of vaccination
Massachusetts Public Health Alliance (MPHA) CDC actions risk vulnerable populations and threaten established immunization standards
American Medical Association (AMA) Removal from CDC workgroups, exclusion from policymaking, and rejection of unscientific guideline changes
American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Exclusion from vaccine advisory process and concerns over loss of evidence-based guidance
American Geriatrics Society (AGS) Exclusion and concerns that new recommendations undermine safety of older adults and vulnerable groups
American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Exclusion from CDC's vaccine process, concerns over undermining scientific standards
National Medical Association (NMA) Lack of evidence transparency and marginalization of expert voices
National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) Exclusion from process and concerns over impact on prevention of infectious diseases
Several Groups Are Suing RFK Jr’s HHS
Six leading medical and public health organizations have joined forces as plaintiffs in a landmark lawsuit against HHS and Secretary Kennedy.
Represented organizations include the AAP, ACP, IDSA, APHA, SMFM, and MPHA. Plaintiffs also include individual physicians, such as a pregnant doctor at risk of losing access to COVID-19 boosters due to the new recommendations.
Research studies conducted both in the United States and globally strongly support COVID-19 boosters to protect both maternal and fetal health. The rate of miscarriage, maternal death and hospitalization, is higher when mothers are not vaccinated or boosted. This is a typical outcome with any severe viral infection and there is no reason to treat infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus any differently. Removal of this recommendation is not science backed, it endangers maternal health, and is purely political.
The non-scientific, non-medical, illegal (allegedly) and capricious activities of RFK Jr and HHS are shocking enough to have long-standing highly a-political medical organizations taking a stand for patients. This major lawsuit brought by Physicians, Public Health Professionals, and Scientists against RFK Jr’s HHS is currently ongoing: Pediatric & Public Health Coalition v. HHS.
As explained by Dr. Susan Kressly, President of the AAP:
“These decisions are founded in fear and not evidence, and will make our children and communities more vulnerable to infectious diseases like measles, whooping cough, and influenza.”
The ACP president Dr. Jason Goldman adds:
“As physicians, we require reliable, science-based guidance ... developed through an evidence-based and transparent process, to ensure the safety, welfare, and lives of our patients.”
more plaintiff quotes can be found here.
The plaintiffs suing RFK Jr’s HHS include AAP, ACP, IDSA, APHA, SMFM, MPHA, and an unnamed physician, representing over 270,000 medical and public health professionals.
Because it’s difficult to imagine how many people that is, let me pause and give some examples. That is 3-times more people than the maximum capacity of the largest NFL stadium, and more people than the entire population of Fort Wayne, Indiana. All of them US medical and public health professionals.
The focus of the suit is on the unlawful policy changes, dismissal of expert panel, undermining vaccine science, risk to children & pregnant
To summarize some of the claims in the lawsuit against RFK Jr’s HHS: The Kennedy-led HHS and CDC have entered new territory—making vaccine policy decisions by unsupported decree, shunning expert opinion, and sidelining the scientific establishment.
This is physically dangerous now, and for all future generations.
Call To Action: We Are At A Turning Point In US Health And Medicine
Medical professionals, public health professionals, and scientists are at turning point in history. At stake is the very credibility of the nation’s public health system and decades of progress in preventing infectious disease. Our research systems that support health care and medical advances are being destroyed from the inside out.
Regardless of the outcomes of these lawsuits, we are facing a relentless anti-science, anti-health force that prey’s on people’s lack of expertise, fear of what they don’t understand, and relies on buzzwords like ‘all natural’.
If you have not spoken in a public way about the destruction of US Health and Science yet, I encourage you to do so now through any and all formats available. Speak to your neighbors, speak to local groups, and use one of the numerous social media platforms to communicate what is happening and how it will impact Americans both immediately and for generations. If your congressional representative isn’t picking up the phone, start working now to make sure their opponent is elected, especially if it’s a midterm race.
If you do not feel qualified to speak in this area, support those that do. Share their content relentlessly and unapologetically. It will save lives. Find organizations to donate either time or money to, every little bit helps. My current favorite group is CIDRAP which publishes evidence based infectious disease and health information in an easy to read format. They have launched the Vaccine Integrity Project lead by CIDRAP Director Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH which is ensuring a transparent, evidence based, unbiased set of vaccine recommendations is preserved during this attack on science.
I look forward to seeing more of my colleagues step forward and speak out and I look forward everyone joining the fight against destruction of US science and medicine. See you there.
Thank you for speaking out 🙏