Supreme Court rejects appeals brought by RFK Jr-founded anti-vaccine group over Covid shots

The Supreme Court on Monday turned away two Covid-related appeals brought by Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine group founded by independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

The decision by the justices not to hear the cases leaves in place lower court rulings against the group.

One case challenged the Food and Drug Administration’s emergency authorization of Covid-19 vaccines in December 2020, while the other was brought against Rutgers University in New Jersey over its Covid-19 vaccine mandate.

In the FDA case, the group claimed in court papers that Covid vaccines were “ineffective and lacked proper vetting.” The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Kennedy’s group did not have legal standing to sue.

In the Rutgers dispute, the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that the plaintiffs “have not stated any plausible claim for relief.”

Kennedy himself took leave from the group he founded in April 2023 to run for president. He failed to make inroads in the Democratic primaries and is now running as an independent.

On the campaign trail he has mostly downplayed his anti-vaccine, activity but in November he spoke at a Children’s Health Defense conference.

Kennedy is listed as a lawyer on the Rutgers filing at the Supreme Court despite his leave of absence from the group.

In a separate vaccine-related case, the court also turned away a challenge to Connecticut’s decision to repeal a religious exemption for school vaccinations.