Colorado, 14 other states sue Trump administration over federal childhood vaccine changes
DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) – Colorado is joining more than a dozen states in suing the Trump administration over its recent federal overhaul of childhood vaccine recommendations, calling the move an illegal threat to public health.
The lawsuit, filed by a coalition of 14 attorneys general and the governor of Pennsylvania, argues that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) put children's lives in danger when it announced last month that it would stop recommending all children get vaccinated against the flu, rotavirus, meningococcal disease, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, COVID-19, and respiratory syncytial virus.
The memo stripped the seven vaccines of their universally recommended status. Under the new federal guidance, vaccinations against those diseases are recommended only for certain groups deemed high-risk.
According to Colorado Attorney General (AG) Phil Weiser, the complaint also challenges the replacement of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), the federal panel comprised of medical experts that has guided U.S. vaccine policy for decades.
"Secretary Kennedy and the CDC disregarded federal law, ignored scientific evidence, and put our children in danger by gutting recommended childhood vaccines," Weiser said in a release. "Vaccines remain safe and effective, and they are critical for protecting America’s children and public health. Lower vaccination rates will lead to an increase in preventable diseases, which will put stress on our public health system. We’re suing to reverse this dangerous decision and restore a vaccine policy practice that has saved lives."
The complaint names Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Acting Director Jay Bhattacharya, and HHS and the CDC as defendants.
According to the lawsuit, Secretary Kennedy dismissed all 17 ACIP voting members in June 2025 before appointing new members who share his skepticism about vaccines and mandates. The states allege that those new appointees lack the scientific qualifications required under ACIP’s charter and the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
In December 2025, the newly appointed ACIP voted to eliminate the CDC’s decades-long recommendation for a universal hepatitis B vaccine dose for newborns. Shortly after, a Jan. 5 "Decision Memo" signed by then-Acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill further downgraded seven vaccines from the CDC’s recommended childhood immunization schedule.
The 15 states argue that the CDC memo was not based on new scientific evidence or recommendations from a lawfully constituted advisory committee, and instead relied in part on comparisons to countries that are significantly different from the United States, such as Denmark.
"Lower vaccination rates will lead to higher rates of infectious disease," a release from the Colorado AG's office read in part. "For many states, this means a greater strain on their Medicaid programs, more money spent combating misinformation, and wasted resources splitting state laws, regulations, and public guidance from the federal government’s now-untrustworthy recommendations."
Weiser is joined in filing the suit by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and the Governor of Pennsylvania.
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