Healthcare

Trump’s Disease Control Nominee Backs Vaccine Mandates In ‘Certain Circumstances’

James Gathany, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Erica Schwartz told lawmakers Wednesday that she supports vaccine mandates for U.S. military members in certain cases.

Schwartz, who served as Trump’s deputy surgeon general from January 2019 to April 2021, said during a U.S. Senate committee confirmation hearing that she would back mandating vaccines in the military under “certain circumstances,” also emphasizing her support for “religious exemptions” to such mandates. She has notably drawn criticism from some supporters of the “Make America Healthy Again movement who are skeptical about vaccines.

“I, as you know, I spent over 25 years in the uniformed services and I have had my share of making the mandates for influenza and other vaccines, or at least following, I didn’t make the mandate, but I followed leadership as they made the mandate for those vaccines, and I understood why,” Schwartz said. “When you’re in congregate living situations, when you’re in submarines, when you’re on ships, [in] close quarters, it is really important to make sure that you’re, you have what we call for self-protection.”

“So I’m fully supportive of, in certain circumstances, mandating vaccines for military members, with the exception of, I believe in religious exemptions, and I believe that if there’s a newer vaccine, there should be some conversation as to whether that newer vaccine should be mandatory,” Schwartz continued.

“Okay, so you do not believe that it’s irrational and absurd to have a mandatory flu vaccine mandate in the military?” Democratic Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks asked Schwartz.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previously referred to the U.S. military’s flu vaccine requirement as an “absurd, overreaching mandate,” NPR reported.

“There are a lot of double negatives there, but I think that what you’re asking me is do I believe in vaccine mandates for military members,” Schwartz responded. “I do believe in certain circumstances, yes, there … should be a requirement to have mandates in the military.”

Schwartz also emphasized she wants to be a CDC director who serves “all Americans.”

“Senator, I want to be the CDC director for all Americans,” Schwartz stated. “I don’t want to be the CDC director just for Americans that believe in vaccines, I wanna be the CDC director for Aaron Siri and [other] people that have concerns about vaccines. I approach this position with humility. I want to be a nation-centered CDC director.”

“I want to make sure I understand why parents have vaccine hesitancy,” she added.

Aaron Siri, managing partner of Siri & Glimstad LLP and a longtime ally of Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., claimed in an April 16 X post that Schwartz “would likely be a disaster” if she gets confirmed as the next CDC director.

“Schwartz led nationwide Covid-19 vaccine deployment and her long track record of directly issuing rights-crushing civilian and military vaccine mandates, including mandating injection of smallpox, anthrax, and flu vaccines into U.S. Forces, and [disciplining] those that refused, reflects she lacks the basic ethics and morals to lead the CDC,” Siri wrote in the social media post. “This agency does not need another cheerleader for industry; it needs a regulator over industry.”

Trump announced in April that he had tapped Schwartz to lead the CDC, referring to her as “incredibly talented.”

Schwartz previously worked as chief medical officer for the U.S. Coast Guard, where she supervised disease surveillance efforts and developed policies addressing pandemic influenza, Ebola and other viral outbreaks, The Hill reported.

She also previously led government vaccination programs and managed crisis responses, and played a role in drafting smallpox and anthrax vaccine mandates for certain Coast Guard personnel while she presided over its health care system.