Kansas senator on CDC and vaccine hesitancy

(CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about the CDC.

Last week, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., according to Brennan, "underwent intense questioning from both Democratic lawmakers" and some of Senator Marshall's fellow Republicans, with Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) saying he has "grown deeply concerned" after Secretary Kennedy promised to "uphold the highest standards for vaccines" during Kennedy's confirmation hearing earlier this year.

This prompted Brennan to ask Senator Marshall why he think his colleagues are off base in their concern, to which the senator said:

"President Trump chose Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to a disruptor to the CDC. And that's exactly what he's doing. He's focused on making the CDC more transparent, to make it more trustworthy right now. Right now Americans don't trust the CDC. So, he is literally turning that place upside down.

I respect what my colleagues are saying. But I think that, you know, this whole issue today, or in that meeting, was about vaccines. In my humble opinion, not every person needs every vaccine. And I don't think there is many children out there that need 76 jabs by the time they're old enough to vote. But before you label me a non-vaxxer person, look, I've raised money for polio vaccinations. The MMR is a great vaccine. It saved thousands of lives. Vaccines overall have saved hundreds of millions of lives...but not every person needs every vaccine. And we just want to empower parents and the doctors to make great decisions."

Brennan followed up by asking Marshall if he trusted the CDC during the COVID-19 pandemic when President Donald Trump initiated a directive called "Operation Warp Speed" to stop the pandemic, and Marshall said:

"Yes, look, President Trump absolutely deserves the Nobel Prize. That vaccine saved millions of lives. But this is such a different time...I think it's such a different time today than it was five years ago. Five years ago we had a novel virus. None of us had any immunity to it. It was a strange virus made in a lab in Wuhan, China.

But today, on average, Americans have had COVID five times. We now have natural immunity to it. And not everybody needs the vaccine. So, both things can be true. And that's why when you have people that don't understand science, that don't understand medicine...Why they don't get it. It was a different day then than it is today."

During the interview, Brennan and Marshall talked about vaccine hesitancy, with Brennan asking the senator if he was concerned if people choose to not take a vaccine, like COVID and Hepatitis B, will have the effect to undermine confidence in vaccines, and Marshall said:

"Yes, I think this is a big difference between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats want a one size fits all prescription for everybody...not everybody reads the book, does exactly like that. I have confidence in doctors, in nurses and parents and grandparents to make these decisions. I don't think that we should have one government policy that dictates every one of these vaccines. I think local policy, local schools, if they want to have requirements, what Florida did was a bridge too far...But how about just a little common sense. Just a little common sense would go a long ways here."

To watch more of Brennan's interview with Marshall, click here.