Richard H. Hughes, IV, Member of the Firm in the Health Care & Life Sciences practice, in the firm’s Washington, DC, office, was quoted in Reuters, in “HHS Lawyers Objected to New Powers for Kennedy's COVID Vaccine Adviser,” by Julie Steenhuysen and Chad Terhune.
Following is an excerpt:
U.S. government lawyers attempted to block a vaccine skeptic appointed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. from assuming new powers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that could be used to restrict access to COVID-19 shots, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. …
Outside legal experts say the failure to heed advice of HHS counsel could lead to court challenges and undermine recommendations made by the vaccine board, which is scheduled to meet this week to consider COVID shots.
"You want to ensure that you’re setting agendas and making decisions in a manner that’s compliant with the statute. It subjects you to legal risk if you go against the law," said Richard Hughes, a partner at law firm Epstein Becker Green in Washington, D.C.
Hughes is lead counsel in a lawsuit filed in July challenging Kennedy’s decision to remove the COVID vaccine from the CDC’s immunization schedule for children and pregnant women.
