Former CDC official says RFK Jr.'s response to measles outbreak "not based on science or reality"
Source: cbs news
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July 2, 2026 / 7:20 PM EDT /
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In an interview with "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Wednesday, former CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Debra Houry, one of four senior CDC officials who resigned in protest last summer, said Kennedy and his allies were pushing out information "not based on science or reality, but trying to answer an agenda that was already in place."
More than 2,000 cases of measles were reported nationwide last year, including hundreds in a West Texas outbreak linked to the deaths of two children. During that time, Kennedy aides asked Houry for years-old data on people with measles who had died. Houry told them in an email that the "active measles response has to take priority," according to a trove of newly released emails that she provided to the Senate health committee.
"During all of that, we also get requests for 15 years of data .........................
At around the same time, Houry also expressed worry about statements by Kennedy — a longtime vaccine skeptic — on the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. Kennedy spoke positively about the vaccine at times, but also made inaccurate claims about its ingredients and promoted other treatments. In emails in spring 2025, Houry asked Kennedy's aides whether health officials could "help him with his talking points."
"He would say things like there's fetal parts in vaccines, and I had sent an email to correct that, and said, how can we help him?" Houry told "Face the Nation" about trying to provide Kennedy with "appropriate talking points." There is no fetal debris in vaccines...............................
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Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/debra-houry-cdc-measles-outbreak-rfk-jr/
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