Supreme Court Rejects Two Appeals Related To COVID-19 Vaccines

The AP (6/24) reports, “The Supreme Court on Monday rejected two appeals related to COVID-19 vaccines from Children’s Health Defense, the anti-vaccine nonprofit founded by independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.” In one “case from Texas, the group joined parents in objecting to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s authorization to administer coronavirus vaccines to children.” Meanwhile, in a second “case from New Jersey, Children’s Health Defense challenged a Rutgers University requirement, imposed in 2021, for most students to be vaccinated to attend courses on campus, though the school did not force faculty or staff to be vaccinated.” NBC News (6/24, Hurley) reports, “The decision by the justices not to hear the cases leaves in place lower court rulings against the group.” In the first case, “the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Kennedy’s group did not have legal standing to sue.” Meanwhile, “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.’”