President-elect Donald Trump picked Farmingdale High School graduate Dr. Dave Weldon to oversee the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If confirmed, Weldon would replace Dr. Many Cohen, a Baldwin native.
Weldon is a former Florida representative and served from 1995 to 2009. He was not a candidate for re-election in 2008.
Weldon’s nomination has sparked concern over legislation he sponsored during his seven terms.
In 2004, Weldon introduced the Mercury-Free Vaccines Act, which aimed to ban vaccines with thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative, that the CDC recommended.
The bill was concerned with the development of “neurodevelopmental disorders” due to vaccines, which has been disproven by health specialists.
The CDC’s website says that there are concerns about vaccines’ relationship to autism spectrum disorder.
“Many studies have looked at whether there is a relationship between vaccines and ASD,” the website says. “To date, the studies continue to show that vaccines are not associated with ASD.”
The department website says there is no evidence of harm due to the low-level dosage of thimerosal in vaccines.
In 2007, Weldon sponsored the Vaccine Safety and Public Confidence Assurance Act that transferred CDC responsibilities to other Department of Health and Human Services agencies.
The bill was designed to monitor “adverse events following vaccination” and establish “prevaccination screening methods.”
Weldon’s previous anti-vaccine track record has created controversy at the local and national levels.
If appointed, he will manage and direct the CDC’s oversight and development of disease prevention and control initiatives.
Weldon was born in Amityville and graduated from Farmingdale High School in 1971. He graduated from Stony Brook University in 1978.
