Senate Republican knocks Trump administration on measles surge: ‘Get vaccinated, you don’t die’

The chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), argued the Trump administration is not promoting vaccinations vigorously enough amid a massive measles outbreak that has claimed multiple lives in 2026.

“My concern as a physician is that everyone should be vaccinated for measles,” Cassidy told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “And you may think it only affects me. That’s not true because you infect other people.”

“If I’m not protected, but you are, then I’m not exposed. I’m all about asking people to be immunized for yourself and for others,” he added.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Friday that U.S. measles cases this year had topped 4,000, with about 96 percent being associated with known outbreaks. By contrast, the agency recorded a total of 2,289 measles infections for all of 2025.

About 95 percent of Americans infected with measles this year were either not vaccinated against the illness or had an unknown vaccination status, according to the CDC.

During his CNN appearance, Cassidy urged Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the CDC to further push for vaccinations.

While Kennedy has peddled theories linking vaccines to a variety of medical conditions, namely autism, the GOP lawmaker acknowledged the secretary has encouraged immunization but argued the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) should do more to boost vaccination rates.

“I have seen people die from vaccine-preventable diseases. You get vaccinated, you don’t die. You’re not vaccinated, you do die,” Cassidy said.

Earlier this week, Pennsylvania officials confirmed a sixth person had died following a recent measles diagnosis. The state has recorded more than 1,100 cases this year — its largest measles outbreak in decades, which has also sparked an intense feud between Kennedy and the state’s governor, Josh Shapiro (D), over its true death toll.

Earlier this year, Cassidy, during a hearing for three HHS nominees, called the Trump administration’s handling of measles outbreaks a “terrible legacy” — citing the measles-associated deaths in Pennsylvania.