Thirty-one Democratic and independent lawmakers are pressing CDC Director Erica Schwartz, MD, on the Trump administration’s childhood vaccine overhaul and the agency’s measles response.
The lawmakers, led by Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and Rep. Kim Schrier, MD, D-Wash., sent Dr. Schwartz a letter Oct. 6, requesting written responses by Oct. 16.
President Donald Trump’s Aug. 10 executive order calls for cutting the number of diseases every child is recommended to be vaccinated against from 18 to 11. It would also split combination shots like the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine into single-disease doses, which are not available in the U.S. On Aug. 24, HHS issued a request for information on federal vaccine recommendation categories. The lawmakers said the request aims to bypass the CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
They also cited the largest U.S. measles outbreak in 35 years and CDC data that showed 280,000 kindergartners did not complete the MMR series.
The authors asked whether the White House or HHS consulted Dr. Schwartz on the executive order and what role CDC career scientists played. They also asked what evidence supports reducing and separating childhood vaccines and who at the CDC authorized excluding Pennsylvania’s measles deaths from the national tally. In addition, they sought an explanation for why the CDC waited until Sept. 24 to open COVID-19 vaccine orders through the Vaccines for Children program.
“As CDC Director, you bear a responsibility to uphold scientific integrity, and we write seeking answers on how the CDC will respond to the EO and the RFI, and how you will honor the pledge you made to ensure that the CDC leads with evidence-based public health,” the lawmakers wrote.
The letter comes days after Pennsylvania reported its fifth measles death with total cases surpassing 1,000.
