"For instance, after Kennedy went rogue and removed the COVID vaccine from the immunization schedule for healthy kids and pregnant women, Vaccine Guy (Demetre Daskalakis, MD, MPH) persistently asked to see the data on which this decision was based. While he was told it was many pages of data, when he finally got the memo it was just 2 pages with no data."
"Another stand-out moment was when "Political Appointee" (Susan Monarez, PhD) forwarded "Chief Medical Officer" (Debra Houry, MD, MPH) an email to let her know that Monarez needed approval to make any policy or staffing change. Kennedy told Monarez to "accede to his demands or resign." Monarez was fired shortly after. CDC insiders also shared the emotional turmoil of having to "control F" to find and replace instances of newly banned terminology, undermining years of their own work;"
CDC staff encountered a chaotic workplace marked by politicized decision-making, data withholding, and abrupt policy reversals under HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Leadership removed the COVID vaccine from pediatric and pregnant women immunization schedules without transparent data, and official memos conflicted with public statements. Political appointees constrained career staff authority, culminating in firings after directives to accede or resign. Staff faced efforts to scrub banned terminology from documents, trauma from a shooting at headquarters, and constant readiness to resign. Long-term public health programs and morale suffered as employees navigated compromised scientific processes and institutional destabilization.
Read at Medpagetoday
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