Senate OKs Erica Schwartz to lead the CDC amid measles surge and vaccine politics

The Senate confirmed Dr. Erica Schwartz as the CDC’s first permanent director in about a year in a 51-44 vote largely along party lines. Schwartz, a former deputy surgeon general and Navy physician, will oversee vaccine guidance and outbreak response as the agency confronts a measles surge, a cyclosporiasis outbreak tied to shredded iceberg lettuce, and rising vaccine hesitancy amid Kennedy-era policy debates. Her nomination followed a contentious hearing about distancing from some of Kennedy’s stances, with Republican Sen. Cassidy praising her commitment to standing up to misinformation and noting shifts in immunization policy under Kennedy.