Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
Schrier says RFK Jr. should be held responsible for 'every death from a vaccine-preventable illness'
Posted
June 24, 2025
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June 24, 2025
115,056
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4:48Now PlayingRep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., confronted Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his decision to replace a panel of vaccine experts who make key recommendations.
Schrier, a pediatrician, said she found this move “deeply concerning.”
The lawmaker then asked the HHS secretary if he’s treated patients, including babies, who have measles, bacterial meningitis, whooping cough, among other illnesses.
The secretary said no to Schrier’s list of inquiries.
Schrier said thankfully, doctors have not had to treat these illnesses in recent years because of vaccines that prevent all these illnesses.
“Here's the thing: Vaccines only work if you actually give them, and we know your record on this,” the lawmaker said. “We rely on the advisory committee on immunization practices, a panel of experts to recommend which vaccines people should get, at which ages and the like.”
Schrier then mentioned how during Kennedy’s confirmation hearings, Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, also a physician, expressed his concerns about Kennedy and his stance on vaccines. Cassidy ultimately voted to confirm Kennedy with the commitment that Kennedy would not change the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Schrier added.
“But then 2 weeks ago, you fired all 17 experts on that very committee,” she added. “Did you lie to Sen. Cassidy when you told him you would not change this panel of experts?”
Kennedy said he never made that agreement to Sen. Cassidy.
Kennedy testified Tuesday on his agency’s budget request before a House panel, where he faced questioning about changes to U.S. vaccine policy, transparency actions, and his replacement of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
Cassidy wrote on social Monday that while the ACIP replacements “have scientific credentials, many do not have significant experience studying microbiology, epidemiology or immunology.”
Schrier accused Kennedy of lying to Cassidy in order to secure the senator’s vote.
“You lied to Sen. Cassidy. You have lied to the American people. You have lied to parents about vaccines for 20 years,” she said, “and I also want to be clear that I will lay all responsibility for every death from a vaccine- preventable illness at your feet.
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