Bernie Sanders demands Bill Cassidy hold a hearing to debunk RFK Jr.'s vaccine claims

Sen. Bernie Sanders is demanding that Senate Health Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy hold a hearing to set the record straight that there is no link between vaccines and autism.

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Sanders is demanding that Senate Health Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy hold a hearing to set the record straight that there is no link between vaccines and autism.

Cassidy, R-La., a doctor, has been outspoken about his belief that vaccines are “safe and effective and will not cause autism.”

But in a letter shared exclusively with NBC News, Sanders, I-Vt., said Cassidy must counter statements by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has undermined public faith in vaccines and raised questions about their connection to autism. Cassidy’s was the deciding vote to confirm Kennedy.

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Sanders is Cassidy’s counterpart as the ranking member on the powerful Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee.