Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that he would help spearhead a multi-state lawsuit against US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over childhood vaccines.

The California governor wrote in a post on X that he would lead the litigation against RFK Jr. and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “for illegally removing 7 childhood vaccines from the federal list of universally recommended shots.”

“We’re not sitting back while the Trump Administration threatens kids with preventable diseases,” Newsom said.

The state of California joined with more than a dozen other states in suing the Trump administration over the change to the childhood immunization schedule for what it said puts children’s lives at risk.

“This is a publicity stunt dressed up as a lawsuit. By law, the health secretary has clear authority to make determinations on the CDC immunization schedule and the composition of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The CDC immunization schedule reforms reflect common-sense public health policy shared by peer, developed countries,” HHS Press Secretary Emily Hilliard told The Post.

“California is going back to court because the Trump administration is violating federal law and pushing a reckless, unscientific childhood vaccine schedule that puts kids’ lives at risk,” Newsom said in a statement.

“These changes ignore decades of medical evidence and will lead to outbreaks of diseases we’ve already beaten.”

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He added, “We will not stand by while politics overrides science and endangers our children. Just as we’ve done before, we’re standing up — alongside 14 other states — to defend the law, protect public health, and keep our kids safe.”

It comes following the removal last month by the RFK-led CDC of childhood vaccinations for such illnesses as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, rotavirus, influenza, COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and meningococcal disease.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said that the Trump administration is “undermining confidence in vaccines that will lead to lower vaccination rates and more infectious disease.”

The change in the immunization list will also drive up costs for states, including increased Medicaid spending and new expenses to combat misinformation and revise public health guidance, Bonta claimed.

The federal government’s move to advance a childhood vaccine schedule unsupported by science, without deliberation or public input, and circumventing established processes and procedures, is unlawful, CA officials said.

The state said that in doing so “It stands in direct violation of federal requirements that mandate the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which advances vaccine recommendations for the country, be fairly balanced.”

In the announcement, Bonta cited a previous CDC report that found routine childhood vaccinations prevented more than 508 million cases of illness, 32 million hospitalizations and more than 1.1 million deaths, a direct savings it said of $540 billion and $2.7 million in societal savings.

“The health and safety of children across the country is not a political issue. It is not a culture war talking point,” Democrat Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who partnered in the lawsuit, said.

Others joining the suit include ​​the Attorney Generals of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, and the Governor of Pennsylvania.

In January, the move to scale back childhood vaccinations brought criticism from medical experts.

“RFK Jr.’s revised childhood vaccination schedule will have deadly consequences,” New York City’s acting city Health Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse said.

“As a public servant and medical professional, I will not stay silent. The NYC Health Department remains committed to our mission of protecting the health and safety of all New Yorkers.”
Both Trump and RFK Jr. -a longtime vaccine skeptic-have defended the move calling it medically sound.

“This Schedule is rooted in the Gold Standard of Science, and widely agreed upon by Scientists and Experts all over the World,” Trump insisted on Truth Social.

“Parents can still choose to give their children all of the Vaccinations, if they wish, and they will still be covered by insurance,” he added.

“However, this updated Schedule finally aligns the United States with other Developed Nations around the World… Many Americans, especially the ‘MAHA [Make America Healthy Again] Moms,’ have been praying for these COMMON SENSE reforms for many years.”

Kennedy said, “After an exhaustive review of the evidence, we are aligning the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with international consensus while strengthening transparency and informed consent. This decision protects children, respects families, and rebuilds trust in public health.”

Last year, Newsom signed AB 144 allowing the state to base “immunization guidance on credible, independent medical organizations rather than the CDC’s increasingly politicized Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).”