First Circuit Leaves 13 ACIP Appointments Stayed After Hearing

The First Circuit heard the administration’s appeal on Oct. 6 over a district-court order barring 13 members of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices from serving. The appeals court issued no ruling at the hearing, leaving the appointment stay in effect.

The case, American Academy of Pediatrics v. Kennedy, is appeal No. 26-1503. The hearing took place in Boston. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other medical groups sued Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other federal officials.

The March order covers appointments, votes and a CDC memo

On March 16, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts granted preliminary relief in part. Its order stayed three things: the appointments of 13 ACIP members, all votes taken by the reconstituted committee, and a January 2026 memo revising the CDC’s childhood-immunization schedule.

The appointments were dated June 11, 2025, Sept. 11, 2025, and Jan. 13, 2026. The 13 appointees cannot serve while the appointment stay remains in effect. The separate stay on committee votes restricts action by the reconstituted ACIP, while the memo provision blocks the January schedule revision.

The administration appealed the appointment restriction, not the other parts of the district-court order, Reuters reported. The appeal before the First Circuit therefore concerns whether those 13 appointees may serve; the stays on committee votes and the schedule memo remain separate provisions of the March order.

Arguments over the appointment stay

The Justice Department argued that the appointment stay hampers ACIP and prevents it from meeting. Reuters reported that the administration said the committee lacks a quorum under the order. Those are the administration’s arguments, not findings by the appeals court.

Members of the appellate panel questioned the district court’s explanation for blocking the appointments. Lawyers for the medical-group plaintiffs urged the panel to leave the stay in place, arguing that it protects public health. The hearing ended without a decision on whether the appointment restriction should be lifted.

The dispute affects the composition and activity of a federal committee that advises the CDC on immunization practices. The district-court order bars the 13 appointees from serving and stays ACIP votes. Separately, it keeps the January 2026 memo revising the childhood-immunization schedule from taking effect. The administration’s appeal, as described by Reuters, addresses only the appointment stay, rather than asking the appeals court to review all three restrictions.

The CDC lists ACIP meetings scheduled for March 18–19 and June 24–26, 2026, as canceled because of ongoing litigation. Its calendar also lists a meeting for Oct. 21–23. That meeting is listed as upcoming; the listing does not establish whether it will proceed.

As of Oct. 7, the First Circuit had not announced a date for its decision. Until it rules on the appointment appeal, the district-court stay continues to prevent the 13 appointees from serving.