ICYMI: Senator Murray Calls on White House to Reverse Reported Hiring of Anti-Vax Conspiracy Theorist Lyn Redwood to CDC
ICYMI: Murray Calls for Kennedy to Reinstate Fired ACIP Members or Delay Meeting Until New Members Appropriately Vetted; Calls Out Elevation of Conspiracy Theorist like Redwood
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, sent aletterto Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. calling on him to reverse the reported hiring of notorious anti-vaccine extremist Lyn Redwood—the former longtime president of RFK Jr.’s anti-vaccine advocacy group, Children’s Health Defense—to help oversee vaccine safety at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This letter follows Senator Murray’s questioning of CDC Director nominee, Dr. Susan Monarez, where she raised the alarm over RFK Jr.’s move to bring in Lyn Redwood at CDC. Ms. Redwood gave a presentation on thimerosal in vaccines at the ACIP meeting this week—furthering RFK Jr.’s debunked claims that the preservative used in vaccines causes autism.
“I write today to express strong disapproval of your reported decision to appoint Lyn Redwood, an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, to oversee vaccine safety at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Ms. Redwood poses a serious danger to our nation’s public health, and I am calling on you to immediately reverse this hiring decision,” Senator Murray wrote.
“I am deeply concerned about Ms. Redwood’s anti-science background as the past president of Children’s Health Defense, the organization you founded, which spreads vaccine misinformation and aims to instill fear in families about vaccinating their children,” Senator Murray continued, noting Ms. Redwood’s long history of spreading blatantly incorrect information about vaccines. “Your former organization, which Ms. Redwood most recently led, has pushed false conspiracy theories about vaccine safety and contributed to a dangerous rise in vaccine-preventable disease. The organization has also criticized the CDC Immunization Safety Office by spewing false rhetoric that the agency was being deceptive when debunking any potential link between thimerosal and autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental disorders.”
Senator Murray also addressed Ms. Redwood’s recent presentation to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), writing: “I understand Ms. Redwood also presented to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) yesterday, after you provided her with a platform to promote the debunked claim that the vaccine preservative thimerosal causes autism. This claim has been disproven by CDC and with decades of research proving that there is no link between vaccines and autism. She also cited a study that does not exist in her original presentation that was posted to the CDC website. After her presentation and despite the absence of any scientific evidence that thimerosal is linked to autism, ACIP voted against recommending certain flu vaccines that contain thimerosal, which if adopted, will put lives at risk.”
“Ms. Redwood’s views on vaccines are extremely dangerous, and despite her claims having no basis, elevating her to work at our country’s lead public health agency will further increase vaccine hesitancy, causing fewer people to get vaccinated, and causing parents to be fearful about vaccinating their children against deadly diseases, such as measles, whooping cough, influenza, and more,” Senator Murray concluded. “Hiring someone to lead vaccine safety at CDC who has shown such disregard for basic scientific evidence in their decision-making is an extremely dangerous move and will cause unnecessary deaths. I call on you to reverse this reported hiring decision and ensure no additional anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists, like Ms. Redwood, are employed at CDC or anywhere in the Department.”
Senator Murray forcefully opposed the nomination of notorious anti-vaccine activist RFK Jr. to be Secretary of HHS, and she has long worked to combat vaccine skepticism and highlight the importance of scientific research and vaccines. Murray was also a leading voice against the nomination of Dr. Dave Weldon to lead CDC, repeatedly speaking up about her serious concerns with the nominee immediately after their meeting. In 2019, Senator Murray co-led a bipartisan hearing in the HELP Committee on vaccine hesitancy and spoke about the importance of addressing vaccine skepticism and getting people the facts they need to keep their families and communities safe and healthy. Ahead of the 2019 hearing, as multiple states were facing measles outbreaks in under-vaccinated areas, Murray sent a bipartisan letter with former HELP Committee Chair Lamar Alexander pressing Trump’s CDC Director and HHS Assistant Secretary for Health on their efforts to promote vaccination and vaccine confidence.
Senator Murray has been a leading voice in Congress against RFK Jr.’s dismantling of HHS and attacks on America’s public health infrastructure, raising the alarm over HHS’ unilateral reorganization plan and slamming the closure of the HHS Region 10 office in Seattle and the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Spokane Research Laboratory. Senator Murray has sent oversight letters and hosted numerous press conferences and events to lay out how the administration’s reckless gutting of HHS is risking Americans’ health and safety and will set our country back decades, and lifting up the voices of HHS employees who were fired for no reason and through no fault of their own.
The full letter is available HERE and below:
The Honorable Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Secretary
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue SW
Washington, DC 20201
Dear Secretary Kennedy:
I write today to express strong disapproval of your reported decision to appoint Lyn Redwood, an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, to oversee vaccine safety at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Ms. Redwood poses a serious danger to our nation’s public health, and I am calling on you to immediately reverse this hiring decision.
I am deeply concerned about Ms. Redwood’s anti-science background as the past president of Children’s Health Defense, the organization you founded, which spreads vaccine misinformation and aims to instill fear in families about vaccinating their children. Your former organization, which Ms. Redwood most recently led, has pushed false conspiracy theories about vaccine safety and contributed to a dangerous rise in vaccine-preventable disease. The organization has also criticized the CDC Immunization Safety Office by spewing false rhetoric that the agency was being deceptive when debunking any potential link between thimerosal and autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
I understand Ms. Redwood also presented to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) yesterday, after you provided her with a platform to promote the debunked claim that the vaccine preservative thimerosal causes autism. This claim has been disproven by CDC and with decades of research proving that there is no link between vaccines and autism. She also cited a study that does not exist in her original presentation that was posted to the CDC website. After her presentation and despite the absence of any scientific evidence that thimerosal is linked to autism, ACIP voted against recommending certain flu vaccines that contain thimerosal, which if adopted, will put lives at risk.
Ms. Redwood’s views on vaccines are extremely dangerous, and despite her claims having no basis, elevating her to work at our country’s lead public health agency will further increase vaccine hesitancy, causing fewer people to get vaccinated, and causing parents to be fearful about vaccinating their children against deadly diseases, such as measles, whooping cough, influenza, and more.
Hiring someone to lead vaccine safety at CDC who has shown such disregard for basic scientific evidence in their decision-making is an extremely dangerous move and will cause unnecessary deaths. I call on you to reverse this reported hiring decision and ensure no additional anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists, like Ms. Redwood, are employed at CDC or anywhere in the Department. Thank you for your attention to this matter.
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