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. The CDC is responsible for tracking and responding to infectious diseases, developing vaccine guidelines, collecting and analyzing health data and managing public health emergencies. The CDC provides vaccine recommendations for the public, including the pediatric vaccine schedule, which is followed by schools and parents. “This puts CDC, and HHS, in the driver’s seat for determining vaccine recommendations going forward,” she said. As HHS secretary, Kennedy could replace members of the ACIP with anti-vaccine advocates who make recommendations that the CDC approves, Reiss speculated.

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