Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) applauded Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for promoting measles vaccination amid a deadly outbreak in Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Since the start of the spread, the U.S. has reported 700 cases<\/a> of the measles virus in states across the country.<\/p>\n The Louisiana lawmaker said immunizations were safe and would be crucial to saving lives during a Sunday interview with radio host John Catsimatidis<\/a> on WABC 770 AM\u2019s \u201cThe Cats Roundtable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI want to complement Secretary of Health Bobby Kennedy because he\u2019s now encouraging people to get the measles vaccine. It is the only proven way to avoid getting the measles,\u201d Cassidy said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the past, Kennedy has supported anti-vaccine rhetoric and previously shared unproven claims that immunizations could cause autism spectrum disorder in children.<\/p>\n Cassidy addressed the misinformation in conversation with Catsimatidis.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is this kind of conversation in our country as to whether or not children should be vaccinated. We now have two children who have died in west Texas from measles, a vaccine-preventable disease,\u201d the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been well established that vaccination does not cause autism. That was one of the concerns,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Some who worked under the HHS Secretary have expressed concerns<\/a> about Kennedy’s ability to lead amid threats of a public health crisis.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know what he\u2019s going to do, and I can\u2019t make him do anything, but I can tell you, as a viewer, please consider getting your child vaccinated,\u201d Peter Marks,<\/a> the Food and Drug Administration vaccine official who resigned<\/a> amid pressure<\/a> from the Trump administration, said in an interview with CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they\u2019re not vaccinated, it\u2019s easy to ignore measles because we haven\u2019t seen it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n