Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy on Sunday criticized President Donald Trump's executive order on childhood vaccines, calling the directive "a stupid thing to do." Cassidy, a physician, argued that the order, which recommended fewer vaccinations for children and proposed splitting the MMR vaccine into separate doses, would ultimately increase costs and inconvenience for American families.
"Now, instead of your child getting two shots, she has to get six shots. Instead of ... you missing work to take your child to the doctor two times, you're doing it six times, and instead of the insurance company paying for two visits, it's now paying for six visits," Cassidy said on ABC News' "This Week." He added that the MMR vaccine was originally combined "to make it more convenient for the parent, to make fewer jabs for the child."
Trump signed the executive order on Monday, repeatedly and erroneously linking vaccines to autism during remarks in the Oval Office. Scientific research has not established a connection between vaccines and autism, a point Cassidy emphasized during the interview. "There's no evidence that vaccines causes (sic) autism, which I think is where this is supposed to come from, so it's stupid policy," he stated.
Cassidy also mentioned that Jay Bhattacharya, director of the National Institutes of Health, has stated there is "no connection" between vaccines and autism. Cassidy expressed a desire to focus resources on understanding the causes and prevention of autism, rather than pursuing avenues that have been "thoroughly disproven."
The Louisiana senator, who voted to confirm Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy despite reservations about Kennedy's history of spreading vaccine misinformation, said he received assurances from the administration regarding vaccine policy. "Mr. Kennedy and the administration reached out seeking to reassure me regarding their commitment to protecting the public health benefit of vaccination," Cassidy said in a floor speech explaining his vote. He added that Kennedy had committed to working within existing vaccine approval and safety monitoring systems. However, Cassidy indicated that the White House had also provided guarantees, including not affecting the current vaccine schedule, and suggested that the administration had not upheld these commitments. "The point is, the American people have been poorly served," he concluded.