Schwartz defends RFK Jr. as voice for vaccine-questioning parents
Dr. Erica Schwartz, confirmed by the Senate in August to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, used her first major public appearance Wednesday to call for an end to what she described as a culture of “paternalism” at the agency. Schwartz, a former deputy surgeon general, made her remarks at a Wall Street Journal Future of Health event in Washington.
Her predecessor, Susan Monarez, left the role after clashing with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on vaccine policy. Schwartz was confirmed in August to lead the nation’s premier public health agency.
“There is a sense of paternalism that we have had at the CDC,” Schwartz said. “It shouldn’t be this black box that we say, ‘Verily thou shalt, and then that’s the answer.’” Americans need to be better informed about how and why the CDC makes its recommendations, she said, and the agency must be willing to listen to people’s concerns.
Schwartz urged parents to prioritize receiving measles vaccines for their children amid current U.S. outbreaks, calling the shot “absolutely safe, absolutely effective.” She added that doctors should not approach vaccine-skeptical parents “with a paternalistic way of thinking.”
Schwartz also defended Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic who has said immunization is a “personal decision.” “The secretary does represent the voices of a number of Americans who are asking questions about certain vaccines,” Schwartz said.
She described an internal policy process in which she and other top health leaders — National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz — debate policies in front of Kennedy, who then makes a decision. “The secretary actually wants to have a robust debate,” Schwartz said.
Schwartz faces several immediate challenges in her early months as director. Her agency is contending with staff cuts, ongoing U.S. measles outbreaks and a potential pneumonic plague case in Russia.