Click here to read the March 20 Newsletter
In this issue:
Following our lawsuit, AAP et. al. v Kennedy et. al., a federal judge issued an important ruling in our lawsuit against Secretary Robert F. Kennedy and the federal administration’s dangerous changes to vaccine policy.
Coverage from major outlets include:
A new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania finds that Americans make a clear distinction between career scientists and the political leaders running federal health agencies. While roughly two-thirds of respondents express confidence in agency scientists, far fewer trust the agencies’ political leadership.
Read the full article here.
Community health centers — which provide vital medical services for the majority of low-income patients in Massachusetts — are facing a range of financial threats due to federal policy changes that will likely force them to scale back operations. Hear from our Executive Director, Carlene Pavlos, and other public health leaders on what’s at stake and what these cuts could mean for the future of community health centers.
Governor Maura Healey released new guidance on childhood vaccinations Wednesday, countering Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recent overhaul of the schedule. Carlene Pavlos, Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, and Dr. Andrew D. Racine, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, are quoted on the importance of vaccines and evidence-based science.
MPHA, alongside the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, and other leading medical organizations, has filed legal action to stop the upcoming February 25–26 ACIP meeting and reverse recent changes to the pediatric immunization schedule. A hearing on the preliminary injunction is scheduled for Friday, February 13.
Coverage from major outlets include:
Following MPHA’s announcement that it would join a lawsuit challenging recent vaccine policy changes under HHS and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., which continues to move forward in court after a motion to dismiss was denied, the organization received coverage from the outlets below:
Coverage from major outlets include:
Dramatic changes to the nation’s childhood vaccination schedule shouldn’t directly hinder access to shots in Massachusetts, public health experts said, thanks to the state’s efforts to build an inoculation policy independent from federal recommendations.
It is likely, though, that federal health authorities’ decision to reduce from 17 to 11 the number of immunizations recommended for all children will spread confusion and misinformation among parents, even in Massachusetts.
“There will still be quite a bit of, I would call it chaos,” said Carlene Pavlos, executive director of the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance.
A group of medical professional societies, led by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), today argued in federal court that the changes to vaccine recommendations by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), and other actions by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. violate the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).
Today’s hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, in Boston, focused on the government’s motion to dismiss in AAP et al., v. Kennedy et al., and whether the plaintiffs have standing to bring suit. Plaintiffs alleged ongoing and continuous harms resulting from the Secretarial Directive and an improperly appointed ACIP.
Based on his line of questioning, U.S. District Court Judge Brian Murphy showed interest in a range of issues from the nature of ACIP recommendations, coverage and payment for ACIP-recommended vaccines, to the types of harms providers could experience. A decision on the government’s motion to dismiss is expected the first week of January.
Massachusetts Public Health Alliance
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