By — Joshua Barajas Joshua Barajas Leave a comment 0comments Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-measles-outbreak-at-center-of-senate-committee-hearing Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter WATCH: Measles outbreak at center of Senate committee hearing Politics Mar 5, 2019 10:31 AM EST Public health officials will testify before a Senate committee Tuesday to address the misinformation circulated among parents over immunizations meant to prevent outbreaks of childhood diseases. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will begin at 10 a.m. ET. Watch it in the player above. John Wiesman, Washington state’s secretary of health, and other health experts are expected to urge lawmakers to launch a national campaign to combat the false information around vaccines. In recent weeks, dozens of people were affected by a measles outbreak in the Pacific Northwest, many of them children. Wiesman told the Washington Post that the U.S. currently lacks an organized public health response that addresses this issue. “We don’t have anything to counter the media of a very well-organized and connected group of a small number of folks who are having a huge impact,” he said of the anti-vaccination activists. The PBS NewsHour will update this story as it develops. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now By — Joshua Barajas Joshua Barajas Joshua Barajas is a senior editor for the PBS NewsHour's Communities Initiative. He's also the senior editor and manager of newsletters. @Josh_Barrage
Public health officials will testify before a Senate committee Tuesday to address the misinformation circulated among parents over immunizations meant to prevent outbreaks of childhood diseases. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will begin at 10 a.m. ET. Watch it in the player above. John Wiesman, Washington state’s secretary of health, and other health experts are expected to urge lawmakers to launch a national campaign to combat the false information around vaccines. In recent weeks, dozens of people were affected by a measles outbreak in the Pacific Northwest, many of them children. Wiesman told the Washington Post that the U.S. currently lacks an organized public health response that addresses this issue. “We don’t have anything to counter the media of a very well-organized and connected group of a small number of folks who are having a huge impact,” he said of the anti-vaccination activists. The PBS NewsHour will update this story as it develops. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now