Earlier in the week, I filed a voluntary dismissal in Cardenas v. Monarez, which lawsuit sought two things. 1. That the CDC change the Covid shot for kids from “recommended” to “shared decision-making.” We specifically asked that this be done prior to the ACIP meeting scheduled for end of June. 2. That the Vaccine for Children Program stop requiring Medicaid pediatricians to order the Covid shot. (You might recall that Dr. Cardenas’ refusal to order the Covid shot lead to the VFC program to stop providing her any vaccines for her patients, which caused CalOptima to remove all 1900 plus patients and place them with other practitioners.

At the end of May, HHS Secretary Kennedy announced that the Covid shot for kids would be moved to shared decision-making, bypassing the ACIP committee. In early July the CDC announced that the VFC program would no longer require Medicaid pediatricians to order the Covid shot.

The stated goals of the lawsuit having been realized, it was time to let the case go. Or in technical terms, the Cardenas case became moot. I am a guerrilla warrior. I like to get in and get out quick, and move to what’s next, if at all possible. Here is the notice of voluntary dismissal I filed. filestampedvoluntarydismissal

I want to thank Dr. Samara Cardenas. Because of sovereign immunity and other reasons, there was no possibility of a financial recovery from the case for her. Yet she agreed to do it because she felt strongly that the Covid shot should not be forced on poor children. If karma is a thing, some good will befall her after losing her medical practice for standing up for her patients.

In the spirit of probable well-deserved modesty, I can’t claim that the Cardenas suit caused or even contributed to HHS’s decisions. I don’t know if RFK Jr. read the complaint or even knew about the case. What matters is that he and HHS did the right thing.

And speaking of next, the next battle is already teed up. I can’t give details yet — the curtain lifts Monday — but it’s built on the Cardenas playbook, turned up to eleven. This new thing is going to make the other side apopletic. So stay Tuned to Monday’s announcement.

Rick Jaffe, Esq