Senator Murray, WA Health Secretary, Doctors Speak Out Against RFK Jr. Blocking Vaccine Access and Wreaking Havoc at CDC, Lay Out State of Vaccine Access in WA

Murray announces she will be calling for an Inspector General investigation into the ousting of top officials at CDC and new restrictions on vaccine access

ICYMI: Senator Murray Calls for HELP Committee Hearing with RFK Jr. on Campaign of Destruction at CDC and Beyond

ICYMI: On Senate Floor, Senator Murray Demands Immediate Firing of RFK Jr.: "This Man is Burning Down Our Public Health System from the Inside"

ICYMI: Senator Murray on the Launch of West Coast Health Alliance in Response to Trump and RFK Jr. Attacks on CDC

***WATCH full press conference HERE; DOWNLOAD HERE***

Washington, D.C. - Today,U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, held a virtual press conference with Washington state health leaders on U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s increasingly dangerous attacks on lifesaving vaccines and America's public health infrastructure, including forcing out the recently-confirmed Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Susan Monarez and other top experts who dared to stand up for basic science. On the press call, Senator Murray announced she will be calling for an Inspector General report into the ousting of top officials at CDC and new restrictions on vaccine access.

Earlier this week, Senator Murray called for Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) to compel RFK Jr. to testify publicly before the HELP Committee, as well as for the committee to hear from Susan Monarez and other former CDC officials. On Wednesday, Chair Cassidy announced Ms. Monarez will appear before the committee on September 17^th.

Joining Senator Murray at the virtual press conference were: Dennis Worsham, Washington State Secretary of Health; Dr. Vin Gupta, pulmonologist, Affiliate Faculty at IHME/UW, and NBC News Medical Analyst; and Dr. Lelach Rave, Interim Executive Director for the Washington chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Last week, the Governors of Washington, California, and Oregon announced the West Coast Health Alliance to provide a unified regional response to the Trump administration's destruction of the CDC's credibility and scientific integrity; Senator Murray praised the move.

"What RFK Jr. has done is demolish decades of trust in just a few short months of conspiracy-fueled chaos. The damage cannot be overstated, and as long as he remains in power at HHS, it cannot be undone," said Senator Murray. "What's happening at CDC and across HHS is not some theoretical danger for families. Right now, there are people who want to get the COVID shot and can't. There are parents looking for the facts about how best to keep their kids safe, but now those facts are buried under an avalanche of misinformation, including from our nation's highest health official. The American people need transparency, they need accountability, and they need action."

"Our decisions to create the West Coast Health Alliance and issue a standing order for the COVID-19 vaccine were direct reactions to the immediate lack of access that is happening right now across Washington and across the country. Days after the FDA issued its limited recommendations, reports surfaced of major pharmacy chains requiring prescriptions-or halting COVID-19 vaccinations altogether. Last RSV season, over half of the COVID-19 vaccines given in Washington were administered at pharmacies and so these federal restrictions directly threaten our ability to access care. And even where vaccines are available, the limitations leave out key populations: children and adults living with immunocompromised family members battling cancer or recovering from transplants; healthcare workers and teachers facing daily exposure; caregivers protecting elderly relatives in multigenerational households; and anyone hoping to avoid the long-term effects of COVID," said Dennis Worsham, Washington State Secretary of Health. "Prevention is the foundation of public health-and our responsibility is to act before crisis strikes. That means ensuring vaccines remain accessible to every Washingtonian."

"Vaccine access is squarely at risk. Pharmacists don't know what to do in many states, they're confused because the law requires that we have to have CDC alignment on vaccine recommendations, and as a result, patients don't know if their insurance is going to cover their COVID vaccine, especially if they're medically higher risk. They don't know if they're going to get the flu shot this year, because no one's talking about it," said Dr. Vin Gupta, a Seattle-based pulmonologist and NBC News Medical Analyst who also serves as an affiliate faculty member at the University of Washington School of Medicine. "Make no mistake, this is the canary in the coal mine. This is just the beginning… People really need to realize here that what's happening at HHS is going to impact all families, whether you're a Republican or whether you're a Democrat. You want to have these technologies, these new treatments available to you and your loved ones should you need it."

"Children are uniquely vulnerable to diseases preventable by vaccines. And vaccines are one of the greatest public health successes of the last century. Global immunization efforts have saved an estimated 154 million lives over the past 50 years - that's six lives every single minute. Most of those lives saved were infants. That is what is at stake," said Dr. Lelach Rave, Interim Executive Director at the Washington chapter of American Academy of Pediatrics and a pediatrician at Seattle Children's Hospital. "Let me give one concrete example. The CDC no longer recommends COVID vaccination for pregnant patients. But infants under 6 months - who are too young to be vaccinated - are one of the groups hospitalized with COVID most often. Their hospitalization rates are equivalent to adults over age 75. The best way to protect those babies is through vaccination during pregnancy-which our federal government no longer supports. Without that, we are leaving our most vulnerable children exposed."

Senator Murray, a longtime congressional leader on health care who has led hearings on addressing vaccine hesitancy, has been a leader in raising the alarm over RFK Jr.'s nomination since the beginning-speaking out on the Senate floor, holding numerous events, raising the alarm after meeting with him, and hammering the threat he poses to Americans' health nonstop. She led the opposition to the Trump administration's disastrous plan to dismantle HHS and fire tens of thousands of staff in critical positions across CDC, NIH, FDA, and other agencies, and spoke out forcefully against RFK Jr.'s ousting of the entire CDC vaccine advisory board, including one ACIP member from Washington state. Senator Murray has held countless events across Washington state and in Washington, D.C. with doctors, patients, and former HHS officials to lift up how Trump and Republicans' attacks on health care will be devastating for families. Last week, Senator Murray took to the Senate floor again to reiterate her call for RFK Jr. to be fired immediately; she also praised the launch of the West Coast Health Alliance to provide evidence-based public health guidance for Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii. On Monday, Senator Murray called for RFK Jr. to testify publicly before the HELP Committee.

Senator Murray's remarks, as delivered on today's press call, are below:

"We are here today because when it comes to public health, families and health care providers in Washington state and really across the country need clear, science-based information, and they need transparency.

"That's what the CDC is for: to give families the facts, and issue recommendations based on science, not politics. But, as we all know, President Trump decided to hand the keys to CDC to an anti-vaccine activist with a premeditated agenda to burn down our public health agencies from the inside.

"What RFK Jr. has done is demolish decades of trust in just a few short months of conspiracy-fueled chaos. The damage cannot be overstated. And as long as he remains in power at HHS, it cannot be undone.

"He has been methodically dismantling our public health system, consequences be damned, and continues to push out scientists and experts who refuse to put his cuckoo-bananas nonsense over decades of hard, scientific evidence.

"First, RFK Jr. fired every member of CDC's vaccine advisory committee-every single one! These were highly qualified and credentialed experts who truly understand vaccines and public health. People like Dr. Helen Chu of Washington state, who was just one of the advisory board members unjustly fired because RFK Jr. wanted his unfounded conspiracies to take precedence over actual facts.

"And after he sent the experts packing, RFK Jr. started stacking the vaccine advisory board with a smorgasbord of anti-vaccine kooks. People who are unqualified. People who are conflicted. People who are just conspiracy-brained. And right off the bat, they started advancing anti-vaxx theories and even policies to limit access to vaccines.

"And when the Trump-appointed CDC Director actually stood up and said, 'You know what, I'm not here to follow RFK Jr. down some rabbit hole. I am here to follow science, and protect families,' he fired her. And this was a CDC Director RFK Jr. picked himself.

"What's happening at CDC and across HHS is not some theoretical danger for families. Right now, there are people who want to get the COVID shot and can't. There are parents looking for the facts about how best to keep their kids safe, but now those facts are buried under an avalanche of misinformation, including from our nation's highest health official. The American people need transparency, they need accountability, and they need action.

"I have been pushing, and we are making some headway, at least on transparency. Next week, we will have a Senate hearing with the CDC Director that RFK Jr. fired. That is going to be a critical opportunity to shine a light on RFK Jr.'s dangerous meddling.

"But we can't stop there. We need answers to all the questions about what exactly RFK Jr. is doing to interfere with the science at our top health agencies, which is why I will be calling for an OIG investigation into the ousting of top officials at CDC and new restrictions on vaccine access. And just as important: we need accountability. That means RFK Jr. needs to be fired. And it means the real experts need to be put back in place.

"So, I'm not going to stop pushing. I'm not going to stop holding his feet to the fire. There is too much at stake. And, as that fight continues in Washington D.C, I'm especially grateful that experts in Washington state are stepping up, to fill the leadership vacuum that is being created at the federal level. And I'm pleased to have some of them joining me today.

"Because there are people right now in Washington state wondering: should I get my kids vaccinated? Can we even get the vaccines we need? And there are doctors wondering, what does this mean for my patients?

"These questions can't wait for RFK Jr.'s reign of chaos to end. They need clear, science-based answers now. That is why efforts like the West Coast Health Alliance, and the standing order on vaccine access in Washington state, are so important.

"I'm glad to see Washington state step up yet again to protect against the Trump administration's chaos, but as we all know, diseases do not stop at state borders.

"That's why we still need a functioning and trustworthy federal health department, and for that to happen, RFK Jr. must be fired.

"Now, I'm delighted today to turn it to Washington State Health Secretary Dennis Worsham, who will talk more about how all this chaos affects Washington state, and what efforts are being taken in our state to protect vaccine access."

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