RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine delusions—not science—steer CDC now, ex-director testifies

At one point in today’s hearing, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Ok.) claimed that there is a recording of that meeting and that he was in possession of it—a claim that Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chair of the HELP committee, and ranking member Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) were shocked to hear. Mullin claimed that the recording proved that Monarez was lying about her exchange with Kennedy. But immediately after leaving the hearing, Mullin told a reporter for PBS NewsHour that there is no recording.

The false twist highlighted just how remarkably politicized and contentious the situation—which at its root is about long-standing, safe, evidence-based childhood vaccine recommendations—has become.

Anti-science agenda

As Sanders said in his opening remarks today: “It is absurd to have to say this in the year 2025, but vaccines are safe and effective.” Sanders then ticked off a long list of medical organizations—collectively representing hundreds of thousands of doctors—who agree with that fact. Monarez and Houry also agree.

But, it is clear that Kennedy does not agree—and he is personally steering federal policies to align with his unfounded views. In the hearing today, Houry noted that Kennedy has refused to work with CDC scientists or review any data. In a question from Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) regarding the CDC’s response to the record-breaking measles outbreak this year, Houry said he refused briefings from experts, spread misinformation about the measles vaccines, and tried to force the CDC to recommend unproven treatments for the viral disease.

“First, I never briefed the secretary, as did the center director who oversaw measles—never briefed the secretary,” Houry said. “In an outbreak response, usually you would be briefing leadership. The second thing is he said things like vaccines had fetal parts, and I had to send a note to our leadership team to correct that misinformation. We were also asked to include things like budesonide [a treatment for Crohn’s disease] and clarithromycin [an antibiotic that treats bacterial infections] in our toolkits for physicians. And I couldn’t allow that as there wasn’t evidence for that and would result in harm.”

https://arstechnica.com/health/2025/09/rfk-jrs-anti-vaccine-delusions-not-science-steer-cdc-now-ex-director-testifies/