Last week’s shake-up at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — as 3 key members resigned after CDC Director Susan Monarez was fired — has raised concerns about the credibility of the agency, especially with regard to vaccines.
This past June, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr., fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and appointed a new slate of 8, many of whom are vaccine skeptics. The new advisory panel is set to meet Sept. 18 and 19 to discuss recommendations for COVID-19, Hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines.
Monarez was nominated in March, and took on her position at the CDC at the end of July. She had initially refused to step down when directed by Kennedy. But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Aug. 28 that President Donald Trump had fired Monarez, saying she “was not aligned with the president’s mission to make America healthy again.”
Venture capitalist Jim O’Neill — who currently serves as a deputy to Kennedy — has been nominated to fill Monarez’ vacant seat.
Key Staff Resign
Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, along with Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s chief medical officer and deputy director for program and science, and Dr. Daniel Jernigan, director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, all resigned shortly after Monarez was formally fired.
Vaccine Access in Question
Shortly after the firing was made public, Dr. Richard Besser, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said in a statement forwarded to American Community Media: “With this firing and the resignation of other top CDC leaders, the agency loses its ability to provide the best health advice to the American people. That will also cost lives.”
“Dr. Monarez was one of the last lines of defense against this administration’s reckless health agenda. She is a principled public servant and scientist, who put the health of the nation above politics, ideology, and her own job security. We applaud her refusal to toe Secretary Kennedy’s line on vaccines,” said Besser, who served as the director of the CDC in 2009.
“I fear that Secretary Kennedy will continue his steady march to limit who can access which life-saving vaccines. Doing so will leave our entire country vulnerable—especially rural communities with limited access to healthcare, people with low incomes or who lack insurance, people with disabilities, and children,” he added.
Refused to Rubber-stamp Kennedy’s Directives
Monarez’ attorneys state that she was fired because of her refusal to comply with Kennedy’s directives regarding vaccines. “When CDC Director Susan Monarez refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts, she chose protecting the public over serving a political agenda,” said her lawyers Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell. “For that, she has been targeted.”
Houry, Daskalakis, and Jernigan have all expressed concerns about public safety amid the CDC shakeup. In a letter directed to Houry — who was still serving in her role at the time — Daskalakis wrote: “I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health. The recent change in the adult and children’s immunization schedule threaten the lives of the youngest Americans and pregnant people.”
“Enough is enough,” he stated. The White House chided him for writing: “pregnant people.”
Vaccine Misinformation
“In an interview with the PBS NewsHour, Houry said she was concerned about vaccine access, after the ACIP committee meets later this month. Without a CDC director in place, Kennedy would sign the committee’s recommendations, without oversight, she noted.
“The COVID vaccine or hepatitis B vaccine, they could choose to change ages on it or the populations that have access to it,” said Houry.
“I’m just concerned about changing vaccine access in our country and that we need to focus more on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, shared decision-making around vaccines, and not talking about misinformation around vaccines,” she said.
