Murray, a longtime congressional leader on health care who has led hearings on addressing vaccine hesitancy, spoke out forcefully against RFK Jr.’s nomination
***PHOTOS and BROLL of the roundtable HERE**
Seattle, WA —Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, held a roundtable discussion at UW Medicine on the importance of scientific research and vaccines—especially for children—and spoke about how Trump’s pick of RFK Jr. to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would threaten Americans’ health and safety. As Murray made clear, RFK Jr. has expressed countless views that run counter to basic truth, facts, and scientific evidence—and there is much he could do as HHS Secretary to create total chaos and cause real harm to families, from firing top scientists and researchers, to ripping away the approval—or insurance coverage—of all kinds of vaccines and medicines, to ending our focus on infectious disease research, as he has threatened to do.
Participants at the roundtable included: Dr. Beth Ebel, professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine, attending physician at Seattle Children’s Hospital, and adjunct professor in the Department of Epidemiology; Dr. Helen Chu, a UW Medicine physician and professor of Medicine and Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and an adjunct assistant professor of Epidemiology; Dr. Marion Pepper, Chair of UW Medicine’s Department of Immunology; and Samantha Kunze Garcia, a mom and nurse at Intergalactic Pediatrics. Prior to the roundtable, Murray also toured the Cell Analysis Facility at UW Medicine.
“Thanks to vaccines, policies that require insurance to cover vaccines, and programs that make sure children can get vaccinated at no cost, we have saved countless lives. But dangerous misinformation and conspiracies have led to backsliding in recent years,” Senator Murray said. “If we don’t stop the misinformation and ensure people trust vaccines we have used for years, we will see more outbreaks. But in DC, we are seeing trust in vaccines become political—and we are seeing anti-vax conspiracy theorists be nominated to some of our most critical public health posts.”
“Elevating RFK Jr. to Health Secretary won’t just give dangerous anti-vaccine conspiracies an unprecedented platform, it will give him real power to undermine vaccines. He could rip away approval for medicines, including vaccines—and directly influence the board that decides which vaccines must be covered by insurance. He has threatened to end crucial infectious disease research. He plans to fire top scientists and researchers—setting lifesaving cures back decades. And could empower political appointees who share his dangerous views,” Murray continued. “We can’t let the conspiracy theorists drive this debate and undermine public health. That’s why I want to make sure the conversation includes the voices of parents in Washington state who don’t want to see vaccine access undermined, and experts who can speak to how vaccines are safe, effective, and lifesaving.”
When President-elect Donald J. Trump announced his intention to select Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of HHS, Murray immediately and forcefully condemned the move. As a longtime appropriator and member of the Senate HELP Committee, Murray has long fought to boost biomedical research, strengthen public health infrastructure, and make health care more affordable and accessible. Over her years as a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, she has secured billions of dollars in increases for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health, and during her time as Chair of the HELP Committee she established the new ARPA-H research agency as part of her PREVENT Pandemics Act to advance some of the most cutting-edge research in the field. As Chair of the HELP Committee, Murray was also instrumental in crafting the American Rescue Plan including its landmark investments in public health and health care. Senator Murray was also the lead Democratic negotiator of the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act, which delivered a major federal investment to boost NIH research, among many other investments. Murray is also the lead sponsor of the Public Health Infrastructure Saves Lives Act (PHISLA), legislation to establish $4.5 billion in dedicated, annual funding for a grant program to build up and maintain the nation’s public health system across the board.
In 2019, Senator Murray co-led a bipartisan hearing in the HELP Committee on vaccine hesitancy and spoke about the importance of addressing vaccine skepticism and getting people the facts they need to keep their families and communities safe and healthy. Ahead of the hearing, as multiple states were facing measles outbreaks in under-vaccinated areas, Murray sent a bipartisan letter with former HELP Committee Chair Lamar Alexander (R-TN) pressing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director and HHS Assistant Secretary for Health on their efforts to promote vaccination and vaccine confidence.
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