The top US health director who stood up for science - and was fired

"When Susan Monarez was sworn in to lead the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the country's premier public-health agency, many researchers across the country breathed a sigh of relief. Trained as a microbiologist and immunologist, Monarez had been a non-partisan government scientist for nearly 20 years. She was an unexpectedly uncontroversial choice by US President Donald Trump."

"But in August, less than a month after assuming the role of director, Monarez was out. "I was fired for holding the line on scientific integrity," she testified at a tense congressional hearing in September. According to her account, she refused orders from US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr to fire leading scientists at the agency and to pre-approve vaccine recommendations without first considering the relevant scientific data."

"Kennedy has made no secret of his contempt for the CDC, calling it perhaps "the most corrupt agency" in the US government. A long-time anti-vaccine advocate, he has attempted to fire about one-quarter of the agency workforce and has replaced all the members of a key panel of scientists that advises the federal government on vaccine policy, introducing several members who have publicly criticized vaccines."

Susan Monarez was sworn in to lead the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and was removed less than a month later. She trained as a microbiologist and immunologist and was a non-partisan government scientist for nearly 20 years. Monarez said she was fired for defending scientific integrity after refusing orders from US health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to dismiss leading scientists and to pre-approve vaccine recommendations without considering relevant scientific data. Kennedy disputed that claim and said Monarez told him she was not trustworthy. Kennedy has criticized the CDC, sought mass firings, reshaped a vaccine advisory panel with critics of vaccination, and overseen budget and funding cuts affecting US scientific research.

Read at Nature