Susan Monarez, who recently lost her position as the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the Trump administration, shared her experience in an OP-ED piece published on Thursday. She stated that her dismissal came after refusing to yield to pressures that would compromise scientific integrity.
In her piece for the Wall Street Journal, Monarez highlighted that she led the agency for only 29 days before Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dismissed her over issues related to vaccine policy.
“In my very first week as CDC director, there was a shooting at the Atlanta headquarters on August 8,” she recounted. “As we began to recover, I was faced with another hurdle: the demand to compromise science itself.”
She described a tense meeting on August 25, where her former boss reportedly pressured her with a choice: resign or risk being fired. This pressure, she indicated, stemmed from her refusal to follow “unpleasant instructions” from Kennedy.
Among his requests was a mandate to pre-approve guidance from a newly appointed vaccine advisory panel that included individuals known for their anti-vaccine views.
Since Kennedy took over the Department of Health and Human Services, he has significantly altered U.S. vaccine policy, channeling over $500 million into mRNA vaccine initiatives, while implementing divisive changes that restricted access to COVID-19 vaccines and reshuffled CDC personnel.
On Thursday, Kennedy testified before the Senate Finance Committee, where he faced inquiries concerning the resignations of several CDC officials following Monarez’s dismissal. Even Republican members of the committee have voiced the need for Kennedy to address critical questions regarding the agency’s condition.
In June, he dismissed all 17 members from the crucial Advisory Committee on Vaccination Practices (ACIP), replacing them swiftly with eight new members, some of whom have expressed skepticism towards vaccines.
Kennedy is now planning to nominate seven additional members to the scientific committee. Monarez argued that it is vital that the committee’s recommendations undergo strict scientific evaluation rather than merely serving as formal approvals to ensure that factual accuracy prevails.
“Those undermining vaccine credibility tend to follow a familiar strategy. They discredit research, weaken advisory boards, and manipulate data to dismantle the protections that have safeguarded generations from deadly diseases,” she stated.
“When trustworthy experts are sidelined and advisory committees are stacked, the outcomes are predetermined. This isn’t reform; it’s sabotage.”
