Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is rewriting the membership rules for the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, his department said Monday, after a federal judge last month placed most of his panel on hold. 

The updated charter, posted in the Federal Register, expands the list of expertise for individuals who could serve on that panel and mandates that its membership be "fairly balanced," featuring "representation from diverse geographic areas and diverse viewpoints," and a "balance of specialty areas."

The change comes after U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy ruled the committee was unlawfully reconstituted when Kennedy replaced the previous members with his own experts last year and that only six of the 15 ACIP members had the required expertise needed for the panel at the time. 

Murphy also blocked several HHS vaccine changes, including an overhaul of the childhood vaccine schedule, and stayed all the votes that the panel has made since June.

HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon told Reuters in a statement that the changes to the charter are "routine statutory requirements and do not signal any broader policy shift."

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.