Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, asked former CDC Director Susan Monarez if Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited any data or science when he directed her to accept new recommendations for childhood vaccine schedules.
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“He did not have any data or science to point to,” Monarez said, which led her to recount a specific moment for the Senate committee.
Kennedy wanted Monarez to preapprove recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the CDC panel that issues vaccine recommendations.
“We got into an exchange where I had suggested that I would be open to changing childhood vaccine schedules, if the evidence or science were supportive, and he responded that there was no science or evidence associated with the childhood vaccine schedule,” Monarez said.
Kennedy further said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had “never collected” that scientific evidence, she added.
Cassidy, one of the handful of doctors on the committee, wanted clarification.
“To be clear, he said there was not science or data, but that you still expected you to change the schedule?” he asked Monarez.
“Correct,” she said.
