Cassidy Blames Trump for 3 Measles Deaths, Presses Surgeon General Pick on MMR Safety
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Sep 17
Cassidy Blames Trump for 3 Measles Deaths, Presses Surgeon General Pick on MMR Safety
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 17
Summary
Bill Cassidy said three people in Pennsylvania died of measles — with a fourth death under review — because misinformation and Trump administration policies undermined vaccination.
At a Senate hearing, the Republican health committee chair pressed surgeon general nominee Nicole Saphier to clearly tell parents that the MMR vaccine does not cause autism and is not lethal.
Saphier said she does not believe the MMR vaccine is lethal and called it the best tool against measles, but Cassidy said courting vaccine-hesitant parents by repeating falsehoods only deepens the problem.
Cassidy tied his skepticism to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying the health secretary broke confirmation-hearing assurances after the CDC revised a page that had flatly stated vaccines do not cause autism.
The clash comes as the US faces its worst measles outbreak in more than 30 years, turning the confirmation fight into a broader test of whether federal health policy will follow scientific consensus.