CDC Director Fired Following Clash with Kennedy Over Vaccine Policies

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention experienced significant leadership upheaval Wednesday as Director Susan Monarez was fired following resistance to vaccine policy changes promoted by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The dismissal prompted immediate resignations from three senior CDC officials, highlighting divisions over the nation's public health approach.

According to Richard Besser, former acting CDC director who spoke with Monarez on Wednesday, "She said that there were two things she would never do in the job. One was anything that was deemed illegal, and the second was anything that she felt flew in the face of science, and she said she was asked to do both of those." Besser added that Monarez refused to dismiss her leadership team without cause.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt confirmed the dismissal Thursday, stating, "(Monarez) was not aligned with the president's mission to Make America Healthy Again, and the secretary asked her to resign. She said she would, and then she said she wouldn't, so the president fired her."

The departing officials—Chief Medical Officer Debra Houry, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Director Demetre Daskalakis, and National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Director Daniel Jernigan—were escorted from CDC's Atlanta headquarters Thursday. CDC staffers wearing green shirts and ribbons as symbols of support for public health scientists gathered outside the gates to applaud and embrace them.

In resignation letters reviewed by Reuters, Houry and Daskalakis cited concerns about health misinformation, particularly regarding vaccines, attacks on science, weaponization of public health, and attempts to cut the agency's budget. "I'm a doctor. I took the Hippocratic oath that said, 'First, do no harm.' I believe harm is going to happen, and so I can't be a part of it," Daskalakis said in an interview.

Kennedy has implemented extensive changes to vaccine policies since taking office, including dismissing the entire expert vaccine advisory panel and replacing them with hand-picked advisers. Besser reported that Kennedy insisted Monarez accept all future recommendations from the revamped vaccine committee, though CDC directors traditionally maintain final authority over vaccine policy decisions.

When asked about the departures during a Fox News interview Thursday, Kennedy said, "The agency is in trouble, and we need to fix it and we are fixing it. And it may be that some people should not be working there anymore."

The White House appointed Jim O'Neill, current deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, as interim CDC leader.

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