ICYMI: In Response to Murray Questioning at HELP, Former CDC Director Says She Would Be “Very Nervous” to Tell Parents to Trust Recommendations From New ACIP Panel
ICYMI: Murray requests HHS Inspector General Review of recent actions limiting access to vaccines
ICYMI from September: Senator Murray Statement on RFK Jr.’s ACIP Voting to Further Restrict Access to COVID-19 Shots, Creating Chaos Around Vaccines
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, issued the following statement on new reporting by the Washington Post that, in their upcoming meeting this week, vaccine advisors handpicked by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kennedy for the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) are planning to vote on ending the practice of vaccinating all newborns for hepatitis B and to relitigate the childhood immunization schedule based on Secretary Kennedy’s unproven anti-vaccine claims.
“Ending the decades-long recommendation that babies born in the U.S. get vaccinated against hepatitis B is a heartless choice to allow babies to die in the United States. It can’t be said enough: we’re not talking about a mandate—we’re talking about a simple recommendation that saves lives—one based on solid science, and that has led to a dramatic 99 percent drop in preventable infections, lifelong health complications, and deaths. RFK Jr. and his handpicked anti-vaccine advisors are careening our country backward to a time when thousands of moms and babies died each year of preventable illnesses that we now have the tools to stop. It’s unfathomable to me that people are actively peddling dangerous misinformation and looking for ways to make it harder for moms and babies to get vaccines they want—vaccines that could save their lives.
“Anyone who knows anything about medicine knows this move is nothing short of catastrophic. Chairman Cassidy is exactly right that getting rid of this recommendation will only make America sicker. This is the exact kind of health care sabotage I warned my colleagues about when I voted against Secretary Kennedy’s confirmation. We need accountability from the top, and once again I am calling on Chairman Cassidy to compel RFK Jr. to testify before the HELP Committee without delay.”
Senator Murray, a longtime congressional leader on health care who has led hearings on addressing vaccine hesitancy, has been a leader in raising the alarm over RFK Jr.’s nomination and handling of HHS since the beginning—speaking out on the Senate floor, holding numerous events, raising the alarm after meeting with him, and hammering the threat he poses to Americans’ health nonstop. She led the opposition to the Trump administration’s disastrous plan to dismantle HHS and fire tens of thousands of staff in critical positions across CDC, NIH, FDA, and other agencies, and spoke out forcefully against RFK Jr.’s ousting of the entire ACIP panel, including one ACIP member from Washington state. Senator Murray has held countless events across Washington state and in Washington, D.C. with doctors, patients, and former HHS officials to lift up how Trump and Republicans’ attacks on health care will be devastating for families.
In early September, Senator Murray took to the Senate floor to reiterate her call for RFK Jr. to be fired after he pushed former CDC Director Susan Monarez out of her job for refusing to rubber-stamp vaccine recommendations without evidence. On September 8th, Senator Murray called on Chairman Cassidy to compel RFK Jr. to testify publicly before the HELP Committee. At the September 17th HELP committee hearing with former CDC Director Susan Monarez and former CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Deb Houry, Senator Murray pressed both witnesses on whether they would feel confident telling parents to trust ACIP’s vaccine recommendations now, after RFK Jr. purged the entire panel of experts and replaced them with unqualified anti-vaccine skeptics—Former CDC Director Monarez replied that she would be “very nervous” to tell parents to trust any recommendations coming from the new ACIP panel.
Senator Murray also requested in September an independent, comprehensive Inspector General review by the HHS Acting Inspector General of recent actions taken at HHS to limit access to vaccines, and recent personnel changes at the CDC.
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