**Kuster’s Q&A can be viewed HERE** 

Today, Congresswoman Annie Kuster (NH-02), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, questioned Nancy Messonnier, MD, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Anthony Fauci, MD, Director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, about immunization rates and combating the spread of infectious diseases at a hearing titled “Confronting a Growing Public Health Threat: Measles Outbreaks in the U.S.” Kuster highlighted and expressed her concern over the current Hepatitis A outbreak occurring in southern New Hampshire, which has sickened 27 people and hospitalized 19.

“Ensuring an effective public health system is crucial to the well-being of the American people, and vaccinations have played an indispensable role in building and maintaining a healthy general public,” said Kuster. “However, growing distrust in medical providers and concerns about contracting other ailments from vaccinations could turn the current Hepatitis A outbreak in New Hampshire into a public health crisis. It is critical the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services give the American people the information they deserve and invest in educating the public about the realities of immunization in order to help prevent outbreaks of Hepatitis A and other preventable diseases.”  

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