Senate Votes to Confirm Dr. Erica Schwartz to Lead the CDC

The Senate has voted 51 to 44 to confirm Dr. Erica Schwartz to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency has been without a permanent director for more than a year after President Trump fired Susan Monarez after she clashed with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy. Dr. Erica Schwartz takes the helm at the CDC as the nation faces its largest measles outbreak in 35 years, as well as a growing outbreak of cyclosporiasis. During her confirmation hearing, Schwartz repeatedly affirmed the safety and efficacy of childhood vaccines, but many Democrats questioned whether she would stand up to Kennedy’s anti-vaccine agenda. www.deemocracynow.org