Booker Demands Answers from CDC on Childhood Vaccines Executive Order, Measles Deaths, and Delayed Vaccine Access

WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) is pressing for answers on how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plans to implement President Trump's childhood vaccine Executive Order (EO), why verified measles-associated deaths were excluded from its public reporting, and why families experienced delays in accessing childhood immunizations. He joined a letter led by U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) and U.S. Representative Kim Schrier, M.D. (D-WA), along with 29 colleagues, urging CDC Director Dr. Erica Schwartz to address efforts that undermine settled vaccine science.

"Parents in New Jersey and across the country should be able to trust that the guidance they get from the CDC comes from scientists, not politics," said Senator Booker. "At a time when the country is facing its largest measles outbreak in 35 years, this administration is making it harder, not easier, for children to get the vaccines that keep them safe. Dr. Schwartz promised to follow the science, and we are asking her to prove it."

The CDC has long prided itself on "objective data collection and reporting." Yet at the beginning of September, reports revealed that four measles-associated deaths verified and reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health were left off the CDC's public outbreak tracker for weeks, even as internal CDC systems continued to track them. That omission breaks with agency standards and raises serious questions about the CDC's willingness to resist political pressure over settled science.

"The health of American children and families depends on a CDC Director who is willing to follow the science, even when it may be politically inconvenient. We look forward to your response and to seeing whether the CDC under your leadership honors the commitments you made at your confirmation hearing," concluded the lawmakers.

In addition to Booker, U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Angus King (I-ME), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Andy Kim (D-NJ), and Michael Bennett (D-CO), as well as U.S. Representatives Nanette Barragán (D-CA), Troy Carter (D-LA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Chris Deluzio (D-PA), Maxine Dexter (D-OR), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), Mike Levin (D-CA), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Joseph Morelle (D-NY), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Brittany Pettersen (D-CO), Melanie Stansbury (D-NM), Mark Takano (D-CA), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Paul Tonko (D-NY), and Lori Trahan (D-MA) signed the letter.

The text of the full letter is available here.