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Ex- senior leaders from the CDC have accused Robert F Kennedy Jr of hobbling the nation’s capacity to respond to outbreaks and public health risks.

Testimony Before Senate Committee

A pair of ex- agency leaders spoke at a session before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee on midweek. Susan Monarez, the CDC director chosen by Kennedy, was dismissed after under a month. Debra Houry, chief medical officer at the CDC, stepped down after working under six CDC directors during both GOP and Democratic administrations.

Claims of Pressure and Meddling

On August 25, Kennedy reportedly insisted that Monarez “agree in advance to endorsing every ACIP guideline, irrespective of the research data”, she stated. He also instructed her to fire longtime officials in charge for vaccine policy without justification, she noted.

“He said if I was unwilling to do both, I should resign. I responded that I could not pre-endorse recommendations without examining the data, and I had no basis to fire scientific experts,” Monarez believes that’s the true reason she was fired.

Kennedy was “very upset” and “tense” in their meeting. He spoke of the CDC and its employees in a “hurtful and disparaging” way, Monarez testified.

“He called, in that setting, CDC the most corrupt federal agency in the world. He emphasized that CDC employees were horrible people. He claimed that CDC employees were killing children, and they don’t care.”

Risk to Immunization Availability

Monarez went on to say that based on her observations, “exists a real risk that guidelines could be made limiting access to vaccines for children and individuals in need, absent rigorous scientific review. With no permanent CDC director in place, those decisions could be implemented.”

She added: “The stakes are not theoretical. We have already seen the largest measles outbreak in over 30 years, which claimed the lives of two children. If vaccine protections are weakened, avoidable diseases will return.”

Also on 25 August, Monarez stated Kennedy told her “the pediatric vaccine timetable would be changing starting in September, and I needed to be in agreement with it”. She said Kennedy had the backing of the Trump White House, with Kennedy claiming to her that “he spoke to the President every day about altering the childhood vaccine schedule”.

ACIP Session and Concerns

The CDC’s vaccine expert panel, ACIP, which has been replaced with Kennedy’s handpicked advisers, is set to meet on Thursday and Friday. Bill Cassidy, a GOP senator from Louisiana who leads the committee, lately called for an delay of the ACIP meeting.

“Should the session go ahead, any recommendations made should be rejected as without legitimacy given the gravity of the accusations and the current turmoil in CDC leadership,” Cassidy, who is a doctor, said.

ACIP will allegedly take up a vote on the current guideline that the hepatitis B vaccine be given at birth.

“People know I’m a doctor – as it turns out I am a liver specialist,” Cassidy said. “I have seen people die from hepatitis.”

Over 90% of children infected at birth develop chronic infections and risk hepatic malignancy, he added.

“Now that we’ve controlled it, do we let the genie out of the bottle if the recommendation goes away?” Cassidy asked.

Political Influence and Suppression

Debra Houry also testified to seeing external pressure and said she “quit because CDC leaders were reduced to automatic approvals, supporting policies not based in science, and putting American lives at risk.” She said Kennedy “censored CDC science, politicized its processes and removed leaders of autonomy.”

Roughly 80% of department heads are now interim because career officials have been fired, quit or left, Houry explained.

Violence and Security Issues

These unprecedented changes come as the CDC and its employees face violence and intimidation. On August 8, a shooter unloaded more than 500 shots on the CDC headquarters, with 180 bullets striking the building. Houry said her staff was “traumatized”.

Kennedy did not call Monarez following the shooting, Monarez testified. Such hostility following decades of false claims and harassment of health experts has far-reaching repercussions. Some CDC staff will now not put their names on research papers on vaccines to protect themselves and their families.

Management Breakdown and National Wellness Danger

Houry initially discovered that Kennedy had changed the CDC’s Covid vaccine guidance in a Twitter/X post.

“CDC scientists have still not seen the scientific data or justification for this change,” she said.

Houry stated that she has never briefed the secretary, nor have her center directors – even as the most severe measles outbreak in decades unfolded. She also objected on inaccurate claims from the secretary: “He claimed things like vaccines had embryonic tissue, and I had to send a note to our leadership team to correct that misinformation. We were also asked to include things like budesonide and an antibiotic in our toolkits for physicians, and I couldn’t allow that, as there wasn’t evidence for that and would cause harm.”

The new limitations on Covid vaccines have led to confusion with the updated vaccine rollout, though Kennedy stated before the finance committee that “everyone can get the booster.”

“My mom lives in Virginia, and she was not able to get it,” Houry shared.

The HHS also meddled with information about thiomersal, a additive proven to be safe, and allowed an “unvetted presentation” on thimerosal to occur in the June ACIP meeting, she testified.

“That kind of last-minute alteration erodes confidence and the discussions that follow,” Houry said.

The vaccine advisers ultimately voted to prohibit thimerosal, which is used in about 4% of flu vaccines in the US. If vaccine-preventable diseases are allowed to continue rising, “it will be heartbreaking,” Houry stated.

Houry added that she’s “concerned about the future of CDC and public health in our country.

“We are not ready, not just for pandemics, but for preventing long-term illness, and we’re going to see kids succumbing of vaccine-preventable diseases,” she added.

Conclusion

Kennedy said in the finance committee hearing that Monarez told him she was not reliable. Monarez then responded in Wednesday’s hearing: “He told me he could not trust me because I had disclosed information related to our conversation beyond his staff. I told him, if you cannot trust me, then you can fire me.”

The issue under debate on Wednesday went beyond the details of Monarez’s and Houry’s exit, said senator Bernie Sanders.

“It is about Secretary Kennedy’s dangerous war on science, public health and the truth itself. It is ridiculous to have to say this in the year 2025, but vaccines are reliable and beneficial.”