Trump’s CDC pick wouldn’t let go of false theory vaccines cause autism

The world’s most respected infectious-disease agency needed a new leader. Anti-vaccine activists knew just the man: Dave Weldon, a Florida physician and former seven-term Republican congressman who had for years expressed concerns about the safety of vaccines.

The year was 2017.

Weldon didn’t get the job then, but, seven years later, President-elect Donald Trump has tapped the 71-year-old former Army doctor to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC is charged with protecting the United States from health threats at home and abroad. That includes making vaccine recommendations — work that has come under fire from Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the longtime vaccine skeptic whom Trump has picked to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, which has oversight over the CDC.

Kennedy proposed Weldon for the job, according to a person involved in the process who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share a private conversation.

Weldon’s past record of promoting the disproven link between vaccines and autism in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence attesting to the safety and efficacy of vaccines raises concerns among some public health experts about his ability to run the CDC. If confirmed, Weldon could undermine confidence in the lifesaving shots at a time when infectious-disease threats such as measles and whooping cough are on the rise, they say.

A Washington Post review of Weldon’s public comments, media appearances and congressional letters along with accounts of those who worked with him reveal a portrait of a politician and physician who emphasized the experiences of individuals while dismissing dozens of studies based on data from hundreds of thousands of patients that showed no link between vaccines and autism.

In Congress, Weldon was “absolutely and completely dismissive” of data showing vaccines were not associated with autism, recalled Josh Sharfstein, a former Democratic staff member on the House Government Reform Committee in the early 2000s when the Republicans who were in charge held regular hearings questioning vaccine safety.

“He appeared to have a closed mind on the issue,” said Sharfstein, now a vice dean for public health practice at Johns Hopkins University and a former top official at the Food and Drug Administration. “He didn’t seem to understand that the core tool of population data analysis is one of the pivotal aspects of the work of CDC.”

And yet, Weldon has also expressed support for coronavirus and flu vaccines in media interviews and private conversations — offering both shots to patients who want them. His mixed stances on vaccines indicate a willingness to agree with some mainstream public health guidance, some political opponents say.

Weldon did not respond to requests for an interview or questions about his current views on vaccines that The Post sent to his personal email and cellphone.

He has previously described himself as a supporter of vaccines.

“I give shots, I believe in vaccination,” Weldon told the New York Times in a recent interview. He said both his adult children are fully immunized but declined to say whether he still believes a link exists between autism and vaccines.

Kush Desai, a spokesman for the Trump transition, did not answer specific questions, including about Weldon’s vaccine views. Instead, he praised Weldon’s decades-long experience in health care.

Weldon “shares President Trump’s unwavering conviction that the CDC must rise to the challenge of addressing our nation’s chronic health crisis by correcting past mistakes and prioritizing disease prevention,” Desai said in a written statement. “The American people gave President Trump a historic mandate to, among other priorities, restore efficacy, confidence, and trust in our health care system, and Dr. Weldon will be an instrumental asset at the CDC to bring in new perspectives and address these concerns and challenges.”

Unlike Trump’s other health agency picks who appear regularly on Fox News, Weldon has kept a low profile since leaving Congress in 2009. After 14 years as a lawmaker, he returned to private practice, treating patients with high blood pressure, diabetes, and “things that happen with gray hair and wrinkles,” he said on a podcast last year.

In the years after he left Congress, Weldon continued to promote false claims that vaccines cause autism. A decade-long study of half a million children in Denmark published in 2019 showed the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine does not increase the risk of autism, lending new statistical evidence to what was already medical consensus.

In 2013, he accepted an award for his “courage and vision” from AutismOne, an organization that promotes the discredited link between vaccines and autism. During that conference, Kennedy, in a keynote speech, likened vaccinating children to sending them to “Nazi death camps,” according to footage obtained by NBC News. AutismOne’s executive director declined to comment.

A spokeswoman for Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment. Kennedy in 2022 apologized for implying during an anti-vaccine rally that Jews had more freedoms during the Holocaust than unvaccinated Americans do today.

In 2016, Weldon repeated his dismissals of the science on vaccine safety in the film “Vaxxed,” by Andrew Wakefield, who ignited the modern anti-vaccine movement with his 1998 research linking the MMR vaccine to autism. An investigation by Britain’s General Medical Council, which regulates doctors, found Wakefield guilty of professional misconduct in 2010, saying he had acted “dishonestly and irresponsibly,” and barred him from practicing medicine. The Lancet retracted his study.

During a promotional tour for the movie, Wakefield touted Weldon as an ideal choice to lead the CDC during the first Trump administration, according to social media posts at the time. Wakefield did not respond to requests for comment.

And in 2019, Weldon repeated the false claim that “some children can get an autism spectrum disorder from a vaccine” while appearing on a TV show broadcast by the conservative Sinclair network.

Ann Millan, a longtime vaccine critic who blamed a tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (Tdap) shot for her daughter’s autism, said she was elated when Trump tapped Weldon as CDC director, even though she said she did not vote for Trump and believes some of his other pending nominations are “crazy.” Millan had hoped Trump would pick Weldon to lead the CDC after his 2016 win because she said the former congressman legitimized concerns about vaccines held by some parents of autistic children.

“He’s respected the parents, and he’s listened to us,” Millan said.

Evolution of Weldon’s views on vaccines

Weldon has said his interest in autism began in the late 1990s when he noticed a rise in cases as a doctor. In 1999, Weldon, then a congressman from Florida, wrote to Jeffrey Koplan, who led the CDC at the time, requesting agency staff come to Washington to answer questions about a potential association between autism and childhood immunizations, according to his congressional papers archived at the Florida Institute of Technology, where Weldon taught in the biomedical engineering program after leaving office.

“As a medical student, resident, and practicing clinician, it was rare for me to see incidences of Autism,” he wrote in the May 25, 1999, letter. “Recently, however, I have subjectively noted an unusual development in my community where several people that I have known for years have had a child diagnosed as Autistic, most recently a fellow physician friend of mine.”

In the same letter, however, he noted his support for immunization: “I am a strong advocate for vaccination, as the benefits to children and all of mankind have been huge.” But he pressed the CDC to investigate a possible link between vaccines and autism.

“In short, it appears that this information I have recently been made aware of is quickly getting into the public domain and it may have some very serious consequences on public health,” Weldon wrote, citing Wakefield’s soon-to-be-debunked claims.

Around that time, Weldon also pushed to rid vaccines of thimerosal — a preservative used to prevent multidose vials from being contaminated with bacteria when repeatedly punctured with needles — because of concerns among some scientists and parents that it caused autism despite the lack of evidence.

Nevertheless, the FDA, at the urging of scientists, recommended that thimerosal, which contains small amounts of ethyl mercury, be removed from vaccines to reduce children’s exposure to mercury. The preservative was largely excised from childhood vaccines by 2001, and vaccine makers switched to single-dose vials.

Weldon continued voicing his skepticism about vaccine safety. During a 2002 congressional hearing, he criticized the CDC for not making vaccine safety data widely available to researchers: “Until we get a free and open dialogue within the scientific community, I don’t think, for one, I will ever be satisfied that there isn’t some data suggesting that some children may have serious side effects from some of these vaccines that is really going undetected, unnoticed and they may actually cause autism.”

At the 2009 dedication for the Florida Institute of Technology’s autism treatment center, for which he had secured funding while in Congress, Weldon ticked off a list of parents whose children have autism. Among them: former Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie, who has claimed vaccines played a role in his son’s autism diagnosis. Flutie’s parents lived in Weldon’s district. Flutie’s agent said he was traveling and unavailable for comment.

“I began to look into this subject and I subsequently learned that there were many people in the research community saying the incidence was skyrocketing,” Weldon said at the time. “Certainly my personal observation was that it appeared to be increasing.”

Researchers attribute the rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorder to environmental and genetic factors as well as increased access to early diagnoses and interventions.

Searching for a platform

As CDC director, Weldon could influence federal guidance on vaccines, including information posted on the agency’s website, which unequivocally states that studies show no association between vaccines and autism.

He would have the authority to countermand recommendations from the agency’s independent vaccine advisory committee about vaccines approved by the FDA, choose members who oppose vaccines or abolish the panel altogether.

Insurance companies are not required to cover the cost of vaccines unless they are included in recommended vaccination schedules approved by the CDC director. Nor would a federal safety-net program that offers free shots to more than half of U.S. children be able to cover the immunizations if the CDC director has not endorsed them.

But supporters say Weldon’s history of challenging the CDC could help restore public trust in an institution battered by its missteps during the coronavirus pandemic. Even some vaccine scientists endorse his calls for a separate vaccine safety office.

Weldon largely stayed out of the public eye during the pandemic. But his past statements suggest support for coronavirus vaccines even as he backs more research on vaccine safety.

In a private conversation about coronavirus shots at an April 2021 dinner soon after the vaccines became broadly available, Weldon “indicated that he was recommending to select patients of his that they take the vaccine, depending on their age and immunities,” recalled Frank Kinney, former vice president of government relations at the Florida Institute of Technology.

“That means he’s being reasonable,” said Kinney, a registered Democrat.

In a radio interview this past summer, Weldon said he discusses coronavirus vaccination with patients and offers the antiviral treatment Paxlovid, following medical protocol.

He has also said he gives flu shots to patients who want them, according to Kim Spencer, a vaccine skeptic who met Weldon at the 2013 AutismOne conference. Spencer, whose son was diagnosed with autism as a toddler, said she would like Weldon to scrutinize the cumulative health effects of kids getting more than two dozen shots during their childhood, as recommended by the CDC. Prior studies have found the childhood immunization schedule to be safe, and research continues.

Weldon is well suited to change the CDC’s approach to vaccines because he is “middle of the road” and “not anti-everything,” said Spencer, who has worked for Children’s Health Defense, a prominent anti-vaccine group founded by Kennedy.

Mary Holland, chief executive of Children’s Health Defense, praised Weldon’s selection for CDC director on a Dec. 1 episode of the organization’s online show: “He, while he was in Congress, was the biggest helper at the time to the vaccine choice movement, to the people saying that vaccines are related to autism. He gets this completely.”

Parents who have grown skeptical of vaccines or embraced conspiracy theories about them may be more inclined to listen to CDC recommendations in a future pandemic if they come from Weldon, said Robert Krakow, a vaccine injury lawyer who moderated a panel featuring Weldon at the 2013 AutismOne meeting. Krakow said the government should address the harms caused by vaccines but acknowledged some anti-vaccine rhetoric veers into misinformation.

“Having Weldon there, we are going to get back to reality and dispel the conspiracy myths,” Krakow said.

By the time Weldon reentered politics in 2023 to run for the Florida legislature, vaccine safety was no longer one of his signature issues.

In interviews, Weldon said he was inspired to mount a political comeback — despite the unusual decision to seek a state legislative seat after serving in Congress — because he was concerned about “all this crazy stuff that’s going on.” He referred to crackdowns on conservative speech on college campuses, drag queens in classrooms and attempts to “redefine marriage.”

His campaign focused on the high cost of insurance and his opposition to abortion. “Vaccine safety” appeared at the bottom of a list of accomplishments on his campaign website — after “balancing the budget,” “reforming welfare” and “religious freedom,” among others.

Weldon lost handily in the August Republican primary to a former Florida Senate majority leader endorsed by Trump.

On the Sunday before Veterans Day, five days after Trump’s win, Weldon delivered a guest sermon at Great Outdoors Community Church in Titusville, Florida. He appeared to relish his role, speaking wistfully about how he was just another member of the public, no longer commanding the attention he once did as a congressman, according to a video of the sermon.

“One of the things I very quickly discovered when I retired from Congress is not a lot of people really want to hear what I have to say anymore,” he said, prompting chuckles. “So this gives me an opportunity to be reminded of the glory days when people actually listened to me and paid attention to what I had to say.”

As CDC director, Weldon would command his biggest audience yet.

Michael Scherer, David Ovalle, Alice Crites and Joyce Sohyun Lee contributed to this report.