"At a U.S. Senate hearing on Wednesday, Susan Monarez, the recently fired director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that her erstwhile boss, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., worked to undermine vaccines and the integrity of her agencyimplying that this threatened the safety of the U.S. public. At the hearing, Monarez spoke about her termination in August, after a month on the job as CDC chief."
"I had refused to commit to approving vaccine recommendations without evidence [or] fire career officials without cause, she told senators. I would not commit to that, and I believe it is the true reason I was fired. Monarez testified that Kennedy told her that he intended to change the childhood vaccine schedule in September, and she claimed he had the support of President Donald Trump to enforce sweeping changes to health policy. He asked her to preapprove, without seeing any evidence, vaccine recommendations from a revamped CDC vaccine advisory panel that Kennedy had filled with antivaccination-leaning members. He had also demanded that she fire certain key CDC scientists."
Susan Monarez reported that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. worked to undermine vaccines and the integrity of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, posing risks to U.S. public safety. Monarez said she was fired after refusing to preapprove vaccine recommendations without evidence or to dismiss career officials without cause. She alleged Kennedy planned to change the childhood vaccine schedule and had filled a CDC advisory panel with antivaccination-leaning members. Monarez also said Kennedy demanded firing key CDC scientists and claimed he had President Trump’s support for sweeping health-policy changes. Public health groups have called for Kennedy’s resignation amid concerns about agency turmoil.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]