Amna Nawaz
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WATCH: Sanders warns 'we're not prepared' for next pandemic
Posted
September 17, 2025
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September 17, 2025
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2:29Now PlayingSen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, defended the use of vaccines and warned that the United States is not prepared for the next pandemic during his opening statement Wednesday in a hearing on recent turmoil at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the implications for children’s health.
Former CDC Director Susan Monarez testified in the hearing Wednesday about the political pressure she says she faced from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. She says she was fired after she refused to preapprove vaccine recommendations from a CDC panel without seeing scientific evidence. Kennedy has denied these claims and told senators earlier this month that she was lying.
Monarez’s firing led to the resignations of several other top health officials, including chief medical officer Dr. Debra Houry, who also testified in Wednesday’s hearing. During the hearing, Sanders reminded his colleagues of prior testimony from health agency leaders, who told Congress was told that the nation must do more to prepare for the next pandemic.
"They all said, 'Well, no one knows what it will be. No one knows when it will come, but the likelihood is there will be another pandemic,'" Sanders said. "And the next question that some of us ask is, 'Tell us, are we prepared for that God forbid, terrible event?'"
Sanders then added, "They all said, 'No, we're not prepared.'"
The hearing comes a day before a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the panel that issues vaccine recommendations. Kennedy, known for his anti-vaccine advocacy, has come under fire for removing all members of the board and replacing them with people who align with his views. The panel is expected to vote on authorizations for COVID-19 vaccines, among others.
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