Dr. Annie Andrews, a pediatrician and candidate for the U.S. Senate, released the following statement in response to former CDC Chief Medical Officer Dr. Debra Houry’s comments about the “irreparable harm” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has caused the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:
“We cannot afford four more years of this. We cannot afford to let ‘irreparable harm’ become permanent damage.
“What Dr. Houry has described should be deeply alarming to all of us. Public trust in the CDC has fallen by more than 20 points under RFK Jr.’s leadership. Only 50% of American adults now trust CDC recommendations, down from 77% just one year ago. Twenty-nine states and Washington, D.C., have stopped using CDC recommendations as the benchmark for childhood vaccinations. States are removing links to the CDC website and turning to other organizations for guidance. This is not how we protect public health. This is how we dismantle it.
“In South Carolina, we’ve experienced a preventable measles outbreak, with nearly 1,000 documented measles cases. Other parts of the country have experienced increased rates of whooping cough and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
“I have spent my professional career prioritizing and protecting South Carolina’s children, families and communities as a pediatrician. If elected, I will become the first pediatrician to serve in the U.S. Senate at an undeniably critical moment for what remains of America’s public health infrastructure. I have the expertise necessary to combat what he’s done by restoring trust in our public health institutions through facts, not falsehoods.”