A coalition of 22 state attorneys general and Pennsylvania's governor sent a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urging the federal government to keep vaccine recommendations grounded in scientific evidence, according to California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
The letter, which Bonta co-led, responded to an HHS request for information on vaccine recommendations. The coalition warned that recent federal actions—including efforts to weaken the childhood vaccine schedule and changes to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)—have created confusion and made it harder for states to rely on federal public health guidance.
The coalition urged HHS to halt additional changes that could lower vaccination rates. In June 2025, HHS Secretary Kennedy dismissed all 17 members of ACIP, a federal advisory body whose science-based recommendations form the basis of federal vaccine policy. HHS quickly reconstituted the committee with new members who did not undergo the typical vetting process, according to the letter.
The coalition also warned against replacing ACIP with the Task Force for Safer Childhood Vaccines, which HHS reinstated in August 2025 after nearly three decades of dormancy. The attorneys general said the current three-tiered vaccine recommendation structure—routine, risk-based, and Shared Clinical Decision-Making—provides clear and efficient guidance for states' public health and Medicaid programs.
The letter comes as Bonta pursues other legal challenges to federal vaccine policy. In February 2026, he co-led a multistate lawsuit challenging the administration's overhaul of the childhood immunization schedule. This month, a federal judge ruled that the coalition has standing to challenge the CDC's changes to the childhood immunization schedule.
The letter was also signed by attorneys general from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, and by Pennsylvania's governor.