Washington, D.C. — House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy Rodgers (R-WA) issued the following statement after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) added COVID-19 vaccinations for children, adolescents, and adults to the immunization schedule: 

"The CDC’s decision to add the COVID-19 vaccination to its schedule only further erodes public trust, as health experts and other countries have said there is ‘no clear benefit’ to vaccinating young children against the virus. 

“On Wednesday, the CDC Director testified under oath before our committee that the decision was largely based on considerations for coverage of the vaccine. Likely knowing this announcement was imminent, it is unacceptable that she failed to explain the scientific justification CDC used to recommend this vaccination for all young children—who are far less vulnerable to adverse effects of COVID-19. Like we’ve seen throughout the pandemic, these actions could be used by state governments to undermine a parent’s right to make the best decisions for their children. 

"Following this announcement, I am also renewing my request to governors, like Jay Inslee in Washington state, to put parents first and resist the temptation to issue unscientific, heavy-handed mandates that don’t fully take a child’s overall well-being into account.” 

Additional Background: 

Chair Rodgers raised concerns with CDC Director Walensky about how the agencies’ decision making has affected children. 

Director Dr. Walensky, in response to a question by Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) at Wednesday’s Health and Oversight and Investigations joint subcommittee hearing, told the Energy and Commerce Committee that the decision to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the schedule was to ensure the Vaccines for Children Program could pay for COVID-19 vaccines—not because it was necessary to keep our kids safe. 

In October 2022, Leader Rodgers wrote to Governor Inslee, requesting that he not mandate the COVID-19 vaccine for children.