Key Republican Disagrees With Trump CDC Pick’s Vaccine Views

Susan CollinsPhotographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

Maine Senator Susan Collins said she has “areas of disagreement” with President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making the moderate Republican’s position key to the vote’s outcome.

Collins expressed concern about physician Dave Weldon’s views on childhood vaccines. In his days as a former congressman, Weldon promoted the idea that a mercury-containing vaccine preservative caused children to become autistic. That runs counter to CDC’s stance that there is no link between the preservative and autism.