Dave Weldon, Trump's CDC pick, could bolster an RFK Jr. anti-vaccine agenda

President-elect Donald Trump’s choice of Dr. Dave Weldon, a former congressman from Florida who has questioned vaccine safety, to lead the CDC may position him as an important anti-vaccine ally for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

As President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the CDC, Dave Weldon, a former congressman from Florida and a physician, is positioned as an important anti-vaccine ally for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's pick for health secretary.

Experts say the Weldon nomination comes at a critical time for the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: The U.S. is dealing with various health threats, including H5N1 bird flu, whooping cough and a spike in measles cases.

Weldon served 14 years in Congress, representing the 15th District of Florida, where he was an outspoken critic of the public health agency and its vaccine program.

In 2007, he introduced a bill to transfer responsibility for the nation’s vaccine safety from the CDC to an independent agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, significantly reducing the CDC's role. It didn't get beyond committees.

He also pushed a false claim that thimerosal, a preservative used in vaccines, is linked to autism, and advocated for limits on abortion.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/weldon-trump-cdc-rfk-jr-vaccine-children-rcna181701

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