OAKLAND — The coalition sent the letter responding to the Department of Health and Human Services’ request for information on vaccine recommendations and shared clinical decision-making. The group warned that actions taken by the department over the past year have created confusion and made it harder for states to rely on federal public health guidance.

The letter urges the Department of Health and Human Services to halt additional changes that could lower vaccination rates. Such changes would leave more people vulnerable to preventable disease, according to the coalition.

Bonta stated that the administration cannot point to public distrust as a reason to change vaccine policy while ignoring how its own actions have fueled that distrust. "It’s pure hypocrisy," he said.

The coalition urges the Department of Health and Human Services to examine its own role in undermining public trust through recent changes to vaccine policy. The group noted that the department has not identified a change in scientific evidence on vaccine safety or effectiveness that would justify overhauling current recommendation categories.

The coalition urges the Department of Health and Human Services to preserve the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ role in setting vaccine recommendations. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is a 17-member federal advisory body.

The 2025 reconstitution of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is the subject of ongoing litigation. In February 2026, Bonta co-led a multistate lawsuit challenging the administration’s overhaul of the childhood immunization schedule. That lawsuit also challenged Secretary Kennedy’s appointments to the committee.

The Department of Health and Human Services reinstated the Task Force for Safer Childhood Vaccines in August 2025. The task force had been dormant for nearly three decades prior to its reinstatement.

The coalition urges the Department of Health and Human Services to retain the current vaccine recommendation categories. The current structure includes three tiers: routine, risk-based, and Shared Clinical Decision-Making.

Under the current structure, Shared Clinical Decision-Making allows providers and patients or caregivers to weigh a vaccine’s benefits and risks based on individual circumstances. The department recently moved to expand the use of this category, including for the hepatitis B vaccine birth dose.

The coalition notes that the department's request for information specifically asks about Shared Clinical Decision-Making without identifying new scientific evidence to support the changes. The group includes the attorneys general of 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.

The Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania joined the coalition. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has held the position of United States Secretary of Health and Human Services since February 13, 2025. "My fellow attorneys general and I will continue to hold HHS accountable when it attempts to undermine public health," Bonta said.

Why It Matters

The coalition warns that Department of Health and Human Services actions over the past year have created confusion and made it harder for states to rely on federal public health guidance. The letter urges the department to halt additional changes that could lower vaccination rates.

Timeline

Pennsylvania HB 1611 was enacted on November 6, 1987, amending the Older Adults Protective Services Act and establishing a uniform Statewide reporting and investigative system for suspected abuse of the elderly. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. assumed the position of United States Secretary of Health and Human Services on February 13, 2025.

Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. dismissed all 17 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices members in June 2025. He also reconstituted the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices with new members who did not undergo the typical vetting process during that month.

Attorney General Rob Bonta co-led a multistate lawsuit challenging the administration’s overhaul of the childhood immunization schedule in February 2026. The letter sent on September 22, 2026, by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 22 other attorneys general and Pennsylvania's governor to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. urged HHS to halt changes to vaccine recommendations that could lower vaccination rates.

What's New

Additional reporting indicates that in February 2026, California Attorney General Rob Bonta co-led a multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s overhaul of the childhood immunization schedule. The lawsuit also challenged Secretary Kennedy’s appointments to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).

Research titled "Agency: Attorney and Client: Power of an Attorney to Subject His Client to Liability for Services of Additional Attorneys" was published in 1922 in California Law Review.

Pennsylvania HB 1611 is an Act amending the act of November 6, 1987 (P.L.381, No.79), known as the Older Adults Protective Services Act, extensively revising provisions relating to the protection of abused elderly. The National Weather Service issued a Coastal Flood Advisory for Gloucester and Camden on September 22 at 4:14PM EDT until September 25 at 4:00AM EDT by NWS Mount Holly NJ.

How Sources Differ

Sources differ regarding the scope of California Attorney General Rob Bonta's recent legal actions. One source states that in February 2026, California Attorney General Rob Bonta co-led a multistate lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s overhaul of the childhood immunization schedule and also challenged Secretary Kennedy’s appointments to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Another source states that California Attorney General Rob Bonta co-led a coalition of 22 attorneys general and the Governor of Pennsylvania in urging U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to keep federal vaccine recommendations grounded in science and medical evidence.