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The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced that it is firing Susan Monarez, manager of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), conscionable weeks aft her authoritative confirmation to the post, and days aft 600 CDC unit were sacked.
Monarez’s ousting has thrown the US’s apical wellness bureau into a enactment situation arsenic it has prompted an unprecedented question of high-profile resignations from respective different elder officials successful protest.
On the aforesaid time arsenic Monarez was sacked – Wednesday this week – Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who antecedently headed an anti-vaccine group, besides announced that COVID-19 vaccine mandates nether erstwhile President Joe Biden’s medication had been rescinded.
These vaccines are present lone recommended for radical astatine higher hazard of contracting the coronavirus, helium said, departing from the US government’s proposal that everyone supra six months of property should person vaccine shots successful beforehand of flu season.
It is unclear if Monarez’s removal is straight linked to the updated COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Health experts person voiced concerns astir Kennedy’s arguable attack to vaccines and immunisation successful general.
Here’s what we cognize astir the caller developments astatine the CDC:
Who is Susan Monarez?
Monarez is simply a longtime national authorities idiosyncratic who was antecedently lawman manager of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). She received her doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her probe enactment has focused connected infectious diseases and technological innovations successful healthcare.
Monarez became the CDC’s acting manager successful January aft Biden’s departure from the White House. In March, Trump nominated her arsenic his authoritative appointee. He had withdrawn his archetypal information of doc Dave Weldon, who came nether occurrence for his arguable comments linking autism to vaccine use, a mentation which has been debunked.
In July, the Senate confirmed Monarez arsenic CDC head. She was the archetypal CDC manager not to clasp a aesculapian grade since 1953. She oversaw the tense play pursuing an August 8 attack connected CDC premises successful Atlanta by a gunman, erstwhile unit reported a emergence successful targeted harassment.
According to reporting by The Washington Post, Kennedy and different officials pressed Monarez successful caller days to enactment the revocation of definite approvals for coronavirus vaccines.
Monarez reportedly refused to instrumentality specified enactment without consulting different officials. She besides reportedly called Bill Cassidy, a doc and caput of the Senate Committee connected Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, into the matter, which angered Kennedy, the Post reported.
During Kennedy Senate confirmation hearing, Cassidy, a Republican, had pressed and received assurances that the wellness caput would perpetrate to protecting vaccines earlier voting for him.
Robert F Kennedy Jr, right, and Trump greet each different astatine a run lawsuit sponsored by blimpish radical Turning Point USA, successful Duluth, Georgia, US, October 23, 2024 [Carlos Barria/Reuters]What person the Health Department and the White House said?
The Department of Health and Human Services announced Monarez’s departure successful a station connected X connected Wednesday, which stated that she was nary longer the manager and that the section “thanked her for her dedicated work to the American people”.
The connection went connected to accidental that Kennedy “has afloat assurance successful his squad [at the CDC] who volition proceed to beryllium vigilant successful protecting Americans against infectious diseases astatine location and abroad”.
Later successful the day, pursuing a defiant connection from Monarez’s lawyers, the White House besides issued a connection confirming the determination and accusing Monarez of refusing to resign contempt informing apical officials she would bash so.
“Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s docket of Making America Healthy Again,” spokesperson Kush Desai said successful a statement.
“Since Susan Monarez refused to resign contempt informing HHS enactment of her intent to bash so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her presumption with the CDC.”
How has Monarez responded?
On Wednesday, Monarez’s lawyers initially said she would not resign arsenic she could not beryllium fired by the HHS. As she was a Senate-confirmed official, lone President Donald Trump could occurrence her, they argued.
In an archetypal connection connected X pursuing the HHS’s announcement of Monarez’s departure, lawyers Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell accused Kennedy of targeting wellness experts astatine the CDC, including Monarez, and said that since she has not received a announcement from the White House, she “has neither resigned nor yet been fired”.
This prompted the White House to corroborate the measurement aboriginal successful the day.
“Secretary Kennedy and the HHS person acceptable their sights connected weaponizing nationalist wellness for governmental summation and putting millions of American lives astatine risk,” the lawyers’ connection read.
Monarez had been targeted due to the fact that she “refused to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives, and occurrence dedicated wellness experts”, it added.
After the White House issued the connection confirming Monarez had been fired, her lawyers again fought backmost connected X and said they had informed the White House that Monarez would not resign.
“As a statesmanlike appointee, Senate-confirmed officer, lone the president himself tin occurrence her,” the lawyers said.
Who other has discontinue the CDC aft Monarez’s firing?
At slightest 3 elder officials person confirmed their resignations, portion 1 much is believed to beryllium resigning:
- Dr Debra Houry, the CDC’s main aesculapian serviceman and lawman manager for programme and science, who was adjacent successful enactment arsenic director
- Dr Dan Jernigan, manager of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
- Dr Demetre Daskalakis, manager of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases
- Dr Jennifer Layden, manager of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology, is besides reported to beryllium exiting the CDC, but has not publically confirmed this yet.
In a resignation email Houry sent to CDC unit and which was seen by section media, she did not straight authorities her reasons for resigning, but denounced the mixing of wellness and politics, heightened misinformation astir vaccines and budget cuts.
“For the bully of the federation and the world, the subject astatine CDC should ne'er beryllium censored oregon taxable to governmental pauses and interpretations … Vaccines prevention lives – this is an indisputable, well-established, technological fact,” she wrote.
In a statement connected X, Daskalakis said helium was resigning due to the fact that of the HHS’s May determination to exclude children and large women from COVID-19 vaccine recommendations, and due to the fact that of Kennedy’s wide leadership. He accused the wellness caput of treating the CDC arsenic a spot to make unscientific policies and accusation that was “designed to wounded alternatively than help” the American public.
“I find that the views helium and his unit person shared situation my quality to proceed successful my existent relation astatine the bureau and successful the work of the wellness of the American people. Enough is enough,” Daskalakis wrote.
“I person ne'er experienced specified extremist non-transparency, nor person I seen specified unskilled manipulation of information to execute a governmental extremity alternatively than the bully of the American people,” helium added.
My resignation missive from CDC.
Dear Dr. Houry,
I americium penning to formally resign from my presumption arsenic Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases astatine the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), effectual August 28, 2025, adjacent of business.…
— DrDemetre (@dr_demetre) August 27, 2025
How person different nationalist wellness experts reacted?
Several wellness experts person condemned Kennedy and his caller moves astatine the CDC.
Physician Ashish Jha, who served arsenic the White House COVID-19 manager from 2022 to 2023 nether Biden, said Kennedy’s enactment had led to a “total implosion” astatine the agency.
“There is simply a wholesale demolition of enactment astatine the CDC,” helium wrote successful an X station connected Wednesday.
Similarly, Brown University prof Craig Spencer said the monolithic resignations were a “massive alarm” astir the authorities of the CDC and wellness enactment successful the US.
“What’s happening astatine the CDC should frighten each American,” Spencer wrote connected X. “This is axenic chaos that leaves the state unprepared. Imagine cases of Ebola successful the US close now? We would beryllium an implicit mess,” the physician, who is himself a subsister of the Ebola virus, added.
Meanwhile, Cassidy, the Republican senator, successful a connection connected X, said the high-profile departures from the CDC would “require oversight from HELP”, referring to the Senate Committee connected Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
What is driving hostility astatine the CDC?
Kennedy has agelong been known for his vaccine scepticism and arguable statements, which experts accidental person nary technological backing. He was seat of the Children’s Defense Organisation, an anti-vaccine group, until 2023.
He besides antecedently criticised the CDC successful peculiar for aligning with vaccine manufacturers and Big Pharma. In the past, helium has made comments linking the CDC’s puerility vaccine programmes, which urge a big of vaccinations for infants, to expanding cases of autism successful children – a mentation for which determination is nary evidence.
Kennedy, a erstwhile Democrat, initially campaigned for the presidency but abandoned his ambitions to enactment Trump instead. Before that, and during Trump’s archetypal administration, however, Kennedy criticised him arsenic a “bully”.
Before helium was confirmed arsenic wellness secretary, Kennedy denied respective of the arguable statements helium had made astir vaccines successful the past. At the aforesaid time, helium promised vaccine sceptics, who marque up a important portion of the Trump protagonist base, that helium would extremity COVID-19 vaccine mandates enactment successful spot nether Biden. On Wednesday, Kennedy made bully connected that promise.
Then, past week, a tribunal confirmed that the CDC would sack 600 staff, portion of Kennedy’s propulsion to chopped unit numbers by 20 percent oregon 20,000 people.
Earlier successful August, helium cut backing for mRNA vaccine development. Experts called that determination a “dangerous” one, which would marque the US susceptible to aboriginal outbreaks of respiratory viruses similar COVID-19.
In July, helium fired each 17 members of a technological advisory sheet connected vaccines astatine the CDC.
What are Trump’s views connected vaccines?
While Kennedy’s views connected vaccines person been consistent, Trump has flip-flopped connected the issue. The president has besides made a arguable connection linking vaccines for children to expanding cases of autism.
However, helium has besides encouraged his supporters astatine times to instrumentality vaccines. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump’s archetypal medication pressed manufacturers to nutrient vaccines astatine lightning speed, thing the president bragged astir subsequently.
Trump and Kennedy look to align connected the rescinding of COVID-19 vaccine mandates. The White House has halted national backing for schools that necessitate students to beryllium vaccinated against COVID-19 and, much broadly, has chopped backing to institutions specified arsenic USAID and Gavi, the planetary vaccine confederation that helps get vaccines for poorer countries.
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