Trump's CDC pick Dr. Dave Weldon, a Long Island native, stirs concern
Dr. Dave Weldon, seen here in 2012 speaking to a Florida audience, was born in Amityville and graduated from Farmingdale High in 1971. Credit: AP/Brendan Farrington
A Farmingdale High School and Stony Brook University graduate is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to oversee the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and if confirmed, he’d replace another Long Island native.
The nomination of Dr. Dave Weldon, a former Republican congressman from Florida, has provoked concern from public health experts. He sponsored a bill to limit the use of vaccines containing mercury because of concerns the mercury-based preservative thimerosal could cause autism despite the CDC’s and leading health experts’ insistence that it does not, and sponsored a 2007 bill to strip the CDC of vaccine-safety responsibilities and move it to another agency within the Department of Health and Human Services.
He would replace Dr. Mandy Cohen, a Baldwin native who in a statement released by the CDC after vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for secretary of health and human services, but before Weldon’s, wrote: "I don't want to go backward and see children or adults suffer or lose their lives to remind us that vaccines work, and so I am concerned. Any misinformation coming from places of influence or power are concerning."
K.C. Rondello, a clinical associate professor of public health at Adelphi University in Garden City, said in an email that he and others working in public health "are tremendously concerned about the potential impact of appointing a vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist to the role of CDC director. [Former] Rep. Weldon espouses beliefs that are contrary to the overwhelming mountain of evidence on vaccine efficacy and safety that has been garnered over decades."
The CDC states that many studies have examined potential links between vaccines and autism and "continue to show that vaccines are not associated with ASD," or autism spectrum disorder.
Children’s Health Defense, an organization that Kennedy founded, said in a statement: "We believe Dr. Weldon is eminently qualified as a former member of Congress and physician."
The organization referred Newsday to an article on its website in which critics of the CDC praised Weldon for his criticism of the CDC’s vaccine safety oversight.
Weldon was not available to comment, a Trump transition team spokeswoman said in an email.
Weldon was born in Amityville, according to his official congressional biography, and graduated from Farmingdale High in 1971. He was among the first 16 Farmingdale alumni with their names inscribed on the school’s Wall of Honor, Newsday reported in 1998.
He graduated from Stony Brook in 1978 with a bachelor of science in biochemistry, earning "high honors," university records show. He received his medical degree from the University at Buffalo in 1981.
Weldon was a part-time clinical professor at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida, from 2012 to 2019, and served on the university’s board of trustees from 2021 until January, the university said in an email.
Weldon represented an east-central Florida congressional district from 1995 to 2009. His 2004 bill regarding thimerosal didn't pass.
Thimerosal is added to vaccines to prevent germ growth and, according to the CDC, contains a type of mercury different than the one that is found in some fish. Studies have shown that low doses of thimerosal in vaccines are not harmful, other than minor reactions like redness at the injection site. Thimerosal was removed from childhood vaccines in 2001. It is in flu vaccines for adults and children, but there are thimerosal-free options.
Weldon also has expressed concern about the safety of other vaccines, including those against measles, mumps and rubella, multiple news reports said.
Dorit R. Reiss, a professor at University of California Law San Francisco and an expert on vaccine policy and law, said, "Weldon isn’t quite as extreme as Kennedy." But, she said, she is concerned that Weldon would push to no longer recommend certain vaccines and change CDC vaccine guidance.
A committee of medical and public health experts, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, advises the CDC on vaccines, but the CDC director can reject those recommendations, Reiss said. In addition, as health and human services secretary, Kennedy would have the power to appoint committee members.
Recommendations are critical, because states generally follow them, she said.
"Given the way this topic is politicized — which is a really sad thing, because viruses don't care about your politics — if the recommendations change suddenly, the reception would probably vary across states by political approach, and we may end up with a tragic national experiment in which some states stop recommending some vaccines and others don’t," Reiss said.
In addition, the Affordable Care Act requires that most insurance plans pay for CDC-recommended vaccines if administered in-network. Many people won’t take vaccines if they must pay for them, Reiss said.
"Some [insurance companies] will continue to cover vaccines that are not recommended because it's more cost effective for them to prevent disease than to treat it, but some won’t," she said.
The CDC releases other advisories and recommendations. For example, the CDC website currently states that research shows that vaccines do not cause autism. If that changed, it could affect public trust in the CDC and put an official government stamp on baseless information, she said.
A Farmingdale High School and Stony Brook University graduate is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to oversee the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and if confirmed, he’d replace another Long Island native.
The nomination of Dr. Dave Weldon, a former Republican congressman from Florida, has provoked concern from public health experts. He sponsored a bill to limit the use of vaccines containing mercury because of concerns the mercury-based preservative thimerosal could cause autism despite the CDC’s and leading health experts’ insistence that it does not, and sponsored a 2007 bill to strip the CDC of vaccine-safety responsibilities and move it to another agency within the Department of Health and Human Services.
He would replace Dr. Mandy Cohen, a Baldwin native who in a statement released by the CDC after vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination for secretary of health and human services, but before Weldon’s, wrote: "I don't want to go backward and see children or adults suffer or lose their lives to remind us that vaccines work, and so I am concerned. Any misinformation coming from places of influence or power are concerning."
K.C. Rondello, a clinical associate professor of public health at Adelphi University in Garden City, said in an email that he and others working in public health "are tremendously concerned about the potential impact of appointing a vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist to the role of CDC director. [Former] Rep. Weldon espouses beliefs that are contrary to the overwhelming mountain of evidence on vaccine efficacy and safety that has been garnered over decades."
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Dave Weldon, is an Amityville native who, if confirmed by the Senate, would replace Baldwin native Dr. Mandy Cohen.
- Weldon graduated from Farmingdale High School and Stony Brook University. He served as a Republican member of Congress from Florida for 14 years.
- He sponsored bills to take away the CDC’s vaccine-safety oversight and he has said some vaccines may cause autism, despite leading experts’ assertion that research shows they do not.
The CDC states that many studies have examined potential links between vaccines and autism and "continue to show that vaccines are not associated with ASD," or autism spectrum disorder.
Children’s Health Defense, an organization that Kennedy founded, said in a statement: "We believe Dr. Weldon is eminently qualified as a former member of Congress and physician."
The organization referred Newsday to an article on its website in which critics of the CDC praised Weldon for his criticism of the CDC’s vaccine safety oversight.
Weldon was not available to comment, a Trump transition team spokeswoman said in an email.
Weldon was born in Amityville, according to his official congressional biography, and graduated from Farmingdale High in 1971. He was among the first 16 Farmingdale alumni with their names inscribed on the school’s Wall of Honor, Newsday reported in 1998.
He graduated from Stony Brook in 1978 with a bachelor of science in biochemistry, earning "high honors," university records show. He received his medical degree from the University at Buffalo in 1981.
Weldon was a part-time clinical professor at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida, from 2012 to 2019, and served on the university’s board of trustees from 2021 until January, the university said in an email.
Weldon represented an east-central Florida congressional district from 1995 to 2009. His 2004 bill regarding thimerosal didn't pass.
Thimerosal is added to vaccines to prevent germ growth and, according to the CDC, contains a type of mercury different than the one that is found in some fish. Studies have shown that low doses of thimerosal in vaccines are not harmful, other than minor reactions like redness at the injection site. Thimerosal was removed from childhood vaccines in 2001. It is in flu vaccines for adults and children, but there are thimerosal-free options.
Weldon also has expressed concern about the safety of other vaccines, including those against measles, mumps and rubella, multiple news reports said.
Dorit R. Reiss, a professor at University of California Law San Francisco and an expert on vaccine policy and law, said, "Weldon isn’t quite as extreme as Kennedy." But, she said, she is concerned that Weldon would push to no longer recommend certain vaccines and change CDC vaccine guidance.
A committee of medical and public health experts, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, advises the CDC on vaccines, but the CDC director can reject those recommendations, Reiss said. In addition, as health and human services secretary, Kennedy would have the power to appoint committee members.
Recommendations are critical, because states generally follow them, she said.
"Given the way this topic is politicized — which is a really sad thing, because viruses don't care about your politics — if the recommendations change suddenly, the reception would probably vary across states by political approach, and we may end up with a tragic national experiment in which some states stop recommending some vaccines and others don’t," Reiss said.
In addition, the Affordable Care Act requires that most insurance plans pay for CDC-recommended vaccines if administered in-network. Many people won’t take vaccines if they must pay for them, Reiss said.
"Some [insurance companies] will continue to cover vaccines that are not recommended because it's more cost effective for them to prevent disease than to treat it, but some won’t," she said.
The CDC releases other advisories and recommendations. For example, the CDC website currently states that research shows that vaccines do not cause autism. If that changed, it could affect public trust in the CDC and put an official government stamp on baseless information, she said.
David Olson covers health care. He has worked at Newsday since 2015 and previously covered immigration, multicultural issues and religion at The Press-Enterprise in Southern California.
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