ICYMI LAST NIGHT: Senator Murray Calls for Inspector General Investigation into RFK Jr.’s Ousting of Top CDC Officials and Restrictions on Vaccine Access
ICYMI: Senator Murray, WA Health Secretary, Doctors Speak Out Against RFK Jr. Blocking Vaccine Access and Wreaking Havoc at CDC, Lay Out State of Vaccine Access in WA
*** VIDEO of Senator Murray’s Q&A with witnesses HERE***
Washington, D.C. — Today, at a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing with former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez and Dr. Deb Houry, former CDC Chief Medical Officer, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA)—a former chair and senior member of the HELP Committee—pressed the public health experts on whether parents can trust the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)’s vaccine recommendations after U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s purge of the entire panel of experts. Murray also questioned Dr. Houry on how she, as Chief Medical Officer, learned that CDC was no longer recommending the COVID-19 vaccine for most pregnant women and children—to which Dr. Houry revealed that she found out through a social media post. Dr. Houry also shared that no scientific evidence has been provided for this vaccine guidance change by the Secretary to date.
Last night, Senator Murray requested an independent, comprehensive 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.
[ANNOUNCEMENTS ON VACCINE GUIDANCE]
Senator Murray began by questioning Dr. Houry on the CDC’s recent guidance no longer recommending the COVID-19 vaccine for most children and pregnant women—and how she found out about the change: “In May, Secretary Kennedy announced in a video on social media that the COVID vaccine was no longer going to be recommended under CDC guidelines for most children and pregnant women. The fallout was actually immediate, I heard from a nurse in my state who was pregnant, she was trying to get the vaccine, she was turned away from several pharmacies and ended up calling my office and saying, ‘what am I going to do?’
“Dr. Houry, I want to ask you, how did you learn about CDC’s new COVID-19 vaccination guidance?”
“The same as you, on social media,” Dr. Houry replied.
“What was your title at CDC when this happened?” Murray asked.
“I was the Chief Medical Officer of the agency,” Dr. Houry answered.
“It’s unthinkable to me that the Chief Medical Officer at CDC was left in the dark about such a consequential public health decision that affected real people,” Murray said. “Dr. Houry, how was this change in guidance supported by the scientific evidence?”
“We have not seen the data yet. In fact, after the tweet came out, we asked for a written memo from HHS, because I couldn’t provide guidance off of a tweet. The written memo didn’t say the same as the video. There was a difference between healthy versus all,” Dr. Houry replied.
“You can’t provide guidance off of a tweet,” Murray replied.
Dr. Houry replied, “I didn’t think that was prudent. And then we did ask for the data to back it up, and we have not received the data to date.”
Murray continued with her questioning: “To date, no evidence. Okay, well, the Secretary has made clear he wants to change the childhood vaccine schedule for measles and chickenpox and for Hepatitis B, as well as changes to COVID vaccine recommendations. And as we all know, the ACIP will meet starting tomorrow to consider these recommendations.
“Dr. Monarez and Dr. Houry, I want to ask you both, are you aware of any scientific evidence to support changing the age of which children should receive these vaccines that’s being considered by this advisory committee?” asked Murray.
“I am not. I was certainly open if there were scientific data sets or evidence associated with anything that would help keep our children safe, I was open to seeing it. I have not seen that data,” Dr. Monarez replied.
“We’ve asked for the data and asked for the modeling to support any decision that is done,” Dr. Houry responded.
“Are either of you aware of any scientific evidence to support changing eligibility for COVID vaccinations?” asked Murray.
“I have not seen any evidence, no,” Dr. Monarez responded.
“I think what’s pretty alarming here is that if there was such data [that] existed, the CDC Director and Chief Medical Officer would absolutely be aware of it. And apparently, there is none,” Murray replied.
[ACIP RECOMMENDATIONS]
Senator Murray continued her questioning by asking Dr. Monarez and Dr. Houry about CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and the meetings that have taken place this year, both before and after RFK Jr. fired the slate of 17 experts who previously sat on the board and replaced this with vaccine skeptics: “I want to continue asking about the ACIP, Dr. Monarez, you mentioned that Secretary Kennedy asked you to pre-approve the September ACIP vaccinations a month before the committee was scheduled to meet—without knowing what they were, or what evidence that was based on, correct?
“Correct,” responded Dr. Monarez.
“I find that troubling—and ironic, given what Secretary Kennedy said in June when he fired all 17 members of the ACIP without cause and called them, quote: ‘little more than a rubber stamp.’ That’s exactly what he wanted you to be—for his new board of unqualified vaccine skeptics. The former members of the ACIP actually met in April.
“Dr. Monarez and Dr. Houry, would you feel confident telling parents they could trust the recommendations of the Advisory Committee that were made back in April?” asked Senator Murray.
“The individuals who were participating in April had the commensurate skill sets and background to be able to evaluate the decisions before them,” Dr. Monarez replied. “The processes were regular in terms of using the evidence to recommend. There was working groups that substantiated this, the information, there was robust liberation during the ACIP meeting I would, I would say that it comported to the standards where the Americans could trust them.”
“Agreed, the data was presented, and the committee was filled with experts with experience,” Dr. Houry added.
Murray continued: “The newly chosen ACIP members met in June and will meet again starting tomorrow. Would either of you feel confident telling parents they can trust the ACIP recommendations that come out of this week’s meeting?”
“I’d feel very nervous about it,” Dr. Monarez responded. “I don’t know. They haven’t met yet. I know that the medical community has raised concerns about whether or not, again, they have the commensurate backgrounds to be able to understand the data and the evidence and to evaluate it appropriately. I have to pre-judge. I don’t know what will happen, but I certainly will be watching.”
“I have significant concerns,” Dr. Houry replied. “The public hasn’t been able to weigh in. The general vote should have been posted two weeks ago, so the public knew what was being discussed other than high-level things. There haven’t been work groups other than for COVID, and there haven’t been, as of yesterday, the data hadn’t been posted yet, so it’s unclear to me what decisions are being made.”
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 CDC vaccine advisory board, 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. Senator Murray recently took to the Senate floor to reiterate her call for RFK Jr. to be fired immediately; she also praised the launch of the West Coast Health Alliance to provide evidence-based public health guidance for Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii. Last week, Senator Murray called for RFK Jr. to testify publicly before the HELP Committee and for Director Monarez to be given the opportunity to testify publicly alongside other former senior CDC officials. Last Friday, Murray held a virtual press conference with Washington state health leaders on RFK Jr.’s increasingly dangerous attacks on vaccines and America’s public health infrastructure.
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