Supreme Court rejects covid vaccine appeals from nonprofit founded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

WASHINGTON — 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.

The justices did not comment in letting stand rulings against the group from the federal appeals courts in New Orleans and Philadelphia.

In a 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. In a 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.

Children’s Health Defense has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about covid and covid vaccines. Kennedy took leave from the group when he announced his run for president but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.