Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington State and former chair of the Senate health committee during the coronavirus pandemic, has initiated a new effort to protect the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from political interference. The move follows recent controversies surrounding the CDC’s handling of a measles outbreak in Pennsylvania.
Last week, Murray contacted the CDC’s director, Dr. Erica Schwartz, expressing concern over the agency’s refusal to officially report several measles-related deaths in Pennsylvania. Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, announced in August that two people had died from measles in the state. However, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., under whose oversight the CDC operates, suggested the deaths might have been misrepresented, distinguishing between deaths “with” measles and deaths “from” measles.
Dr. Schwartz told Murray that the CDC was working with state epidemiologists to develop a more precise definition of what constitutes a measles death. Murray criticized this approach, saying it seemed intended to obscure the true death toll. The Department of Health and Human Services stated that the CDC aims to ensure consistent classification and reporting of measles deaths nationwide.
The disagreement highlights broader concerns about political pressures weakening the CDC’s role as a leading public health institution. In response, Murray announced plans to form the “Public Health for America Working Group,” a bipartisan panel of experts tasked with drafting legislative proposals to shield the agency from political influence. The group includes a pulmonologist, a former Food and Drug Administration official, a nurse who leads a state health board, and other health policy professionals, but no current politicians.
Murray emphasized the group’s commitment to inclusivity, aiming to engage with a broad spectrum of perspectives on public health issues. “We need to hear from people that we may think may not agree with me,” she said.
The CDC’s credibility has suffered in recent years, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw conflicting testing protocols and shifting mask guidelines under prior leadership. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the agency’s first director under the Biden administration, acknowledged these missteps and called for reforms. Her successor, Dr. Mandy Cohen, recounted being advised against engaging openly with the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), an independent vaccine advisory panel.
Kennedy subsequently disbanded the ACIP and replaced its members, an action criticized as politically motivated, given that some members were appointed during the previous administration or had Democratic Party affiliations. Dr. Helen Chu, a dismissed ACIP member and University of Washington epidemiologist now part of Murray’s working group, argued that safeguards are needed to prevent unilateral political actions from undermining scientific advisory bodies.
Other members of the working group include Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, a public health communications expert at Johns Hopkins University; Patty Hayes, chair of the Washington State Board of Health; Jeffrey Levi, a longtime health policy expert; and Dr. Vin Gupta, a pulmonologist and Air Force reservist.
The ongoing measles outbreak has renewed public concern, especially among parents of infants too young to be vaccinated. Some traditionally vaccine-hesitant communities, such as certain Amish groups, are reconsidering their stance amid rising cases. Pennsylvania health officials report five measles-related deaths, while the CDC lists two, indicating ongoing discrepancies in reporting.
Experts outside the group, including Dr. Sandro Galea of Washington University in St. Louis, support clarity in definitions but lament the politicization of public health data. Meanwhile, Senator Bernie Sanders, the ranking member on the Senate health panel, has openly criticized Secretary Kennedy for vaccine skepticism and called for his resignation, while focusing largely on broader health care reforms.
Murray, the longest-serving female senator and a top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, stressed that rebuilding trust in public health institutions requires more than electoral change. “We can’t just say to people, ‘Go, let’s have an election and return us to where we were,’” she said. “We have to rebuild them. How do we rebuild them in a way that is lasting and trustworthy?”