Senator Cassidy backs CDC nominee after website disclaimer change

Senate Health Committee chairman Bill Cassidy announced Thursday that he will vote to confirm Erica Schwartz as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cassidy said his decision was driven by a longstanding belief in the importance of vaccines and by a recent alteration to the agency’s website disclaimer on autism and vaccines.

The CDC’s "Autism and Vaccines" page now includes a note stating that the claim "vaccines do not cause autism" is not evidence-based because studies have not ruled out a possible link, and that studies supporting a connection have been overlooked. Cassidy described the change as a "good-faith effort" and said it is a step toward rebuilding public trust in the health response.

If confirmed, Schwartz would report to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has expressed skepticism about vaccines. Schwartz, a career public-health official and former deputy surgeon general, testified that she would follow the science, and she faces a committee vote later Thursday.