WATCH: Sen. Cassidy says we must have ‘radical transparency' on vaccine recommendations

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, made his closing remarks 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.

He pointed to the upcoming meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, the CDC 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 and drop a recommendation for a dose of the Hepatitis B vaccine at birth.

“As it turns out, I am a hepatologist, which is a liver specialist, and have published papers on liver disease, and I've seen people die from hepatitis,” Cassidy said. He detailed the success of the vaccine since its rollout in the early 1990s.

"It does occur, it occurs less often now. We can argue now that we've controlled it, do we let the genie out of the bottle ? If the recommendation goes away and a parent does want the vaccine, insurance will no longer cover it free of charge. She'll be forced to pay out of pocket," he said.

Noting allegations about the ACIP shared in Wednesday's hearing, he told the witnesses " I don't know if you're telling the truth or not . And, when Secretary Kennedy comes, I'm keeping an open mind. "

“But I know it's our responsibility and it's our mandate from the President of the United States that we have radical transparency,” Cassidy said, thanking the witnesses for their testimonies. “Anything less than a radical transparency, betrays the trust the American people have given to us and betrays the mandate the president has delivered.”

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