US public health leadership experienced abrupt upheaval as the CDC director, Susan Monarez, was reportedly removed and four other senior officials resigned amid controversy and new Covid vaccine restrictions. Public health experts warned that the agency’s destabilization poses national security risks and jeopardizes outbreak response, data integrity, chronic disease programs, and injury prevention. Controversial, confusing changes to Covid vaccine guidance raised concerns about distribution chaos and reduced access for high-risk individuals. Intensified scrutiny followed vaccine policy moves and an alleged shooting motivated by anti-vaccine materials, prompting calls from health professionals for Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s removal.
It's been a tumultuous week for US health agencies, with the departure of several top officials, uncertainty around new Covid vaccine restrictions, and even more experts calling for the removal of top health official Robert F Kennedy Jr. The director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Susan Monarez, was fired by the Trump White House after some controversy, and four other top officials also resigned.
[The] CDC basically imploded yesterday and now it's truly in shambles, said Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist and former senior adviser for the CDC. This is a national security risk to Americans. Without steady-headed, evidence-informed leadership, everything from outbreaks to data to chronic diseases to injury is in jeopardy. Kennedy also released controversial and confusing restrictions on Covid vaccines on Wednesday.
Monarez, who was confirmed as the CDC head only weeks ago on July 31, was released from her post on Wednesday evening per a post on X by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). But lawyers representing Monarez, Mark S. Zaid and Abbe Lowell, responded in a statement posted to Bluesky that she had neither resigned nor been fired. She will not resign, Zaid wrote.
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