The following is the transcript of the interview with Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former FDA commissioner, that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on Feb. 8, 2026. Dr. Gottlieb also sits on the boards of Pfizer and United Health Care.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We turn now to former FDA commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb. He is also on the board of Pfizer and United Healthcare. Dr Gottlieb, welcome back.
DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Thank you.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You have a history of making accurate predictions that are also terrifying on this program, and it was around this time last year that you said you were very concerned about the measles outbreak and that it would spread. You’re right. In South Carolina, about 900 reported cases, largest outbreak since measles was declared eliminated. You got out in Disneyland in California, two cases. Here in DC, cases detected. Should we avoid mass gatherings? How concerned should we be?
DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Look, I don’t think we should be worried about mass gatherings at this point. I think that this is going to get worse unfortunately, before it resolves. Last year, we had 2000 cases. This year so far, we have 750 cases reported. It’s going to be a lot higher by the end of the year. I think this is going to be a long cycle right now. If you look at the people who are getting infected with measles, the majority of people are between the ages of five and 17. They’re not toddlers, and we’re seeing vaccination rates decline among toddlers, really, as part of a broader movement away from pediatric vaccines in this country, as those toddlers age into school age settings, the scope of the measles outbreaks are going to continue to escalate in this country. If you think back to the early 1990s, 1991 there were about 25,000 cases of measles. 1992 we had about 10,000. Vaccination rates had declined in the 1990s only about 88% of Americans children were vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella. Right now it’s about 90% but in some of the states where you’re seeing these outbreaks, the rate is as low as 81% in Alaska. 88% in a number of states that are having outbreaks right now. So we’re starting to get down to lower levels, and I think that’s going to continue to decline. And again, as these children who aren’t getting vaccinated age into school age settings, they’re going to start spreading broader and larger outbreaks. So I think this is a long cycle, especially now that this has gotten embedded in political psyche in this country. I think this is a generational change.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah, well, and those, those percentages you point out are important because we’re below herd immunity. And as I understand it, it’s not just the United States, Britain, Canada, Spain, a number of European and Central Asian countries lost their measles elimination status. This is a global anti-vaccine movement, it would seem.
DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Look, I think that that’s right. And I think a lot of this comes out of the Covid pandemic, where people felt compelled to take vaccines that they had hesitations around through state action. I thought that was a mistake at the time. I still think its mistake we talked about in this show that would breed an anti-vaccine backlash. And I think that’s what we’re seeing, and it’s given voice to a lot of people who are anti-vax from the outset, who are now gaining political resonance and starting to drive a lot of the policy agenda, including at the Department of Health and Human Services. So the scope of these is going to continue to grow. It’s not just MMR, it’s diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis as well. We’re seeing pertussis outbreaks in this country. Those are going to continue to grow. So we’re in a long cycle right now, and I think it’s important that we continue to educate people about the importance of these vaccines, especially the MMR vaccines. Measles is very contagious, and as you said, the herd immunity rate is about 95% vaccination in a community in certain pockets of this country, we’re well below that. You look at some states, there’s pockets as communities where their vaccination rate is about 70% and so that’s where you’re seeing the outbreaks, particularly in South Carolina, Texas, Florida has an outbreak right now. There’s been big outbreaks in Utah and Arizona as well. Arizona had 250 cases. Utah, about the same.
MARGARET BRENNAN: There was a hearing this week with Dr Jay Bhattacharya. He’s the NIH director. He did say people should get their measles shot. But he was pressed about vaccines, and he was testifying under oath, and here is what he said.
[SOT]
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Do vaccines cause autism? Tell that to the American people, yes, no.
JAY BHATTACHARYA: No, I do not believe that the measles vaccine causes autism.
SEN. SANDERS: I didn’t ask measles. Do vaccines cause autism?
JAY BHATTACHARYA: For- I have not seen a study that suggests any single vaccine causes autism.
[END SOT]
MARGARET BRENNAN: I played those remarks because I think it’s important to hear them directly. The director claimed the next day in a social media post that he was mischaracterized and that he’s fully aligned with Secretary Kennedy on finding the root cause of autism. Why is the messaging so muddled here? Is it that political embeddedness you talked about?
DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Look, I think a lot of the appointed officials in the sdministration who work for Secretary Kennedy are reluctant to buck the secretary on this and the secretary has been a long standing anti-vaccine advocate. He really led the charge throughout the last two decades for the anti vaccine movement, and now that he’s in that position, he’s able to give much more voice to it and embed it in official policy. You know, Jay’s comments there were very carefully worded. He said no single vaccine causes autism. The only vaccine that’s been studied, as he pointed out in his Twitter post extensively is- is the MMR vaccine. So he backed away from those comments the next day, I think because he and a lot of other officials are reluctant to buck the secretary. Mehmet Oz this morning was speaking to this issue, and he was very clear, and that’s what I would expect of him. He’s a good physician. He was very clear on the importance of getting the MMR vaccine. I think it’s important that more officials step forward with those very clear messages.
MARGARET BRENNAN: You have an op-ed talking about your personal experience with cancer, and you link it to past infection with a virus. Can you explain that?
DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB: Yeah, look, I think a large part of the anti-vaccine dogma, if you will, is that these infections aren’t that serious to begin with, and therefore any risk theoretical or actual from the vaccines themselves isn’t worth it. It’s not worth taking the vaccine to mitigate a virus that in and of itself is incidental. That’s not true. I had Epstein-Barr Virus. It led to the development of a B cell lymphoma. We know that HSV-1 is associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Enterovirus is associated with type one diabetes. We now believe EBV virus is associated with multiple sclerosis and may be a causative factor in lupus as well. So viruses do have long term sequela.
MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, Dr. Gottlieb, it’s an important read and another good point. Thank you for your time today. We’ll be right back.
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