Ousted Trump CDC Director Sounds the Alarm on Vaccine Skepticism: ‘Preventable Diseases Will Return’
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) questioned ousted CDC chief Dr. Susan Monarez during a Senate hearing on Wednesday and asked Monarez to weigh in on what diminished faith in vaccines would mean for the country. Monarez was initially appointed by President Donald Trump, but fired just months after her Senate confirmation.
“Why did you believe it was so important for you to refuse to rubber-stamp vaccine recommendations without seeing them or the evidence behind them? What did you feel was the worst-case scenario if you had agreed to doing that?” Sanders asked Dr. Monarez, who said she was fired for refusing to fire colleagues who disagreed with Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Dr. Monarez replied, “I refuse to do it because I have built a career on scientific integrity, and my worst fear was that I would then be in a position of approving something that would reduce access of life-saving vaccines to children and others who need them.”
Sanders followed up:
“Dr. Monarez, the American Medical Association, largest physician group in America, 270,000 physicians. The American Academy of Pediatrics, over 67,000 pediatricians. The American Academy of Family Physicians, representing over 125,000 doctors. The American Osteopathic Association, representing over 200,000 doctors. And the American College of Physicians, representing over 160,000 doctors. They believe that vaccines are safe and effective. Do you agree with them? And what is your concern? What are the long-term implications for the wellbeing of our kids in the future of our country if faith in vaccine science is undermined?”
Dr. Monarez replied ominously, “I believe preventable diseases will return, and I believe that we will have our children harmed for things that we know they do not need to be harmed by. Polio, measles, diphtheria, whooping cough. I worry about the ramifications for those children in illness and in death. I worry our school systems. I worry of our medical institutions having to take care of sick kids that could have been prevented by effective and safe vaccines. I worry about the future of trust in public health.”
“Would you agree with me in suggesting that the overwhelming body of scientific and medical thought believes that vaccines have been a major public health advance for the people of this world?” Sanders concluded.
Dr. Monarez replied, “I absolutely agree with that.”
Watch the clip above via C-SPAN.
