Former CDC director claims RFK Jr. pressured her to endorse vaccine decisions without evidence
- Susan Monarez testified about her ouster as CDC director due to her refusal to disregard scientific integrity in vaccine recommendations.
- She revealed that Kennedy required approval for all CDC decisions from political staff, diverging from past practices.
- Monarez warned that the U.S. risked a resurgence of preventable diseases due to politically motivated changes in vaccine policies.
In recent weeks, the former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Susan Monarez, has faced significant scrutiny regarding her brief tenure. During a Senate hearing, Monarez outlined her ouster, which occurred just 29 days into her appointment. She stated that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. required that all CDC policy and personnel decisions receive prior approval from political staff, deviating from standard practices of previous administrations. Monarez claimed that she was instructed to agree in advance to all recommendations from the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) without reviewing evidence, which she viewed as a violation of her professional integrity. Furthermore, she was pressed to dismiss career officials responsible for vaccine policy without cause. Monarez's prepared testimony highlighted her commitment to scientific integrity and detailed how she was blindsided by Kennedy's removal of liaison members from ACIP, which she learned about through media reports.