HHS fired Susan Monarez as CDC director weeks after her confirmation and days after 600 CDC staff were sacked. Monarez's removal has triggered an unprecedented wave of high-profile resignations by other senior CDC officials, creating a leadership crisis at the agency. On the same day, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that COVID-19 vaccine mandates from the prior administration were rescinded and that vaccines are now recommended only for people at higher risk. Health experts have expressed concern about Kennedy's controversial approach to vaccines and immunization. Monarez is a longtime federal scientist with a doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and previously served as ARPA-H deputy director.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced that it is firing Susan Monarez, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), just weeks after her official confirmation to the post, and days after 600 CDC staff were sacked. Monarez's ousting has thrown the US's top health agency into a leadership crisis as it has prompted an unprecedented wave of high-profile resignations from several other senior officials in protest.
On the same day as Monarez was sacked Wednesday this week Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who previously headed an anti-vaccine group, also announced that COVID-19 vaccine mandates under former President Joe Biden's administration had been rescinded. These vaccines are now only recommended for people at higher risk of contracting the coronavirus, he said, departing from the US government's recommendation that everyone above six months of age should receive vaccine shots in advance of flu season.
Monarez is a longtime federal government scientist who was previously deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). She received her doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her research work has focused on infectious diseases and technological innovations in healthcare. Monarez became the CDC's acting director in January after Biden's departure from the White House. In March, Trump nominated her as his official appointee. He had withdrawn his initial nomination of physician Dave Weldon, who came und
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