Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Main Complex Atlanta, Georgia, US, Main Complex in August 27, 2025.
Elisa Pointer | Roots
The disease control and prevention center is facing a leadership turmoil – and worrying about the attitude of the agency for vaccines and American public health at the center of shakeup.
white House On Thursday, President Donald Trump had fired CDC director Susan Monarez after refusing to resign. Monarez lawyers said that she was “targeted” to protect the public to serve a political agenda.
Meanwhile, four other top health officials at CDC announced on Wednesday that they were leaving the agency. It consists of Director of Demetre Dasaklis, National Center for Vaccination and Respiratory Diseases, who said that he can do it. No service now Due to “weaponization of public health”.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F with the loss of those respected leaders and efforts to exclude monarees. A link to measures was followed by Kennedy Junior – a major vaccine doubt – to overhall the federal health agencies and Change vaccination policy In the US, which includes large -scale firing, tickling a major government vaccine panel, Cancellation On mRNA shot technology and Hire Scene.
Kennedy has a long track record of making misleading and false statements about the safety of vaccine shots, but in his current role, he generates heavy power on agencies that regulate vaccinations and determine both who can get them and what insurance plans should be covered.
Executive Director of American Public Health Association, Dr. Georges Benjamin stated that the leadership overlah at CDC represents Kennedy’s “unsuccessful leadership and careless mismanagement”, saying that he has “a” disregard for “science and evidence-based public health. ,
The agency is also running again from a gun cut by a gunman at its headquarters in Atlanta and also again from the August 8 attack.
Some health policy experts said that leadership exodus may further increase public confidence in an agency that is responsible for detecting the outbreak of the disease and guiding the state and local health departments if needed.
Lawrence Gostin, Professor of Public Health Law at the University of Georgetown, said, “It should be seen at the top of methods that have been weakened and reduced to the CDC, perhaps irreversibly,”.
“During all those years, the CDC has been independent and the jewel in the crown of American science. It really speaks as we say,” he said. “This is almost a definition of science -reducing politics.”
Top official vaccine highlights concerns
Kennedy and his staff were among the Dasaklis authorities to clearly highlight concerns with the ideas organized by Kennedy and his employees, stating that their ability to continue in the agency challenged his ability to continue.
“I am unable to serve in an environment that considers CDC as a tool for generating policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than improving public health,” Dasaklis said in his resignation letter that was posted on X.
He said that CDC’s recent changes in adult and children’s vaccination program “threatens the lives of youngest Americans and pregnant people.”
In May, Kennedy stated that the CDC removed the covid vaccines from the list of recommended shots for healthy pregnant women and children. One Update guidance After days it was said that “shots” could be given to those groups.
Daskalis stated that data analysis supporting change has never been shared with CDC despite my respectable requests for HHS and other leadership. ” He also said that HHS broadcast the “often asked questions” documents written to support Kennedy’s decision without input from CDC subject matter experts, and cited studies “who did not support the conclusions responsible for these writers.”
On Wednesday, Food and Drug Administration The latest round of covid vaccines approved For high risk people only of serious illness, marking another change in policy around those shots since the epidemic begins.
Shares of Kovid vaccine manufacturers submerged on Thursday. Modern Stock fell more than 3%, while shares Fizer Nearly 2%fell.
Those companies and other drug manufacturers are working to change the vaccine and public health policy as Trump first nominated Kennedy as his pick to lead HHS in November. CDC’s lead shakeup only combines uncertainty in the pharmaceutical industry, which is also struggling with Trump’s drug pricing policies.
Kennedy tried to remove himself from his previous views about vaccines and other health policies during the hearing of his Senate confirms in January, claiming that he is not “anti-vaccine” and will not make it difficult or discouraged people from taking regular shots for measles and polio.
But some of Kennedy’s recent efforts appear to reflect his vaccine-critical ideas. For example, Kennedy in August Argued He is advocated for the development of mRNA vaccines – technology used in covid shots – ineffective and other Jabs that use other “safe” platforms.
The year of research supports the effectiveness of mRNA covid vaccines, and technology is now approved for use in shots against respiratory synchronizing viruses.
Public health threat
As a change through CDC, anxiety over a threat to public health and protocol is increasing.
The duskis slammed the means by which HHS and other CDC leadership has informed major policy changes. For example, Kennedy announced that he is extracting the entirety of the Advisory Committee on vaccination practices-Vaccine for the CDC, a panel of vaccine advisors-one X post and ing down “instead of direct communication with these valuable experts,” said Dasalkis.
He said that he believes that there will be an opportunity to abstin Kennedy on major topics such as measles, avian influenza and respiratory virus seasons. But Dasaklis said that seven months in the new administration, no CDC subject expert at his center had informed Kennedy.
“I am not sure who the secretary is listening, but it is definitely not for us,” he said. “Outside of organizations and disputed organizations feel that the use of HHS on gold standard sciences of CDC and other iconic sources.”
Dr. Debra Humi, who resigned from his post on Wednesday as Chief Medical Officer of CDC, said that senior leaders were “never able to abbreviate the secretary” to behave with the agency on any issue.
“CDC scientists are top notes and excellent,” he told MSNBC in an interview. “What we really liked was to talk more with the secretary.”
Humi said that “In the last few months, things in CDC have become really difficult when it comes to science and data -powered decisions.”
Ever since longer experts leave the CDC, the risk of infectious diseases has been increasing. While measles cases are again in the US, bird flu is spreading in cattle. The first human case of the parasitic “New World Screw”, which eat meat in the country, has been revealed.
Benjamin of the American Public Health Association said that departure “may reassure our public health.”
Susan Monarez, a nominated person nominated by US President Donald Trump, to be the director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, confirm a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, Washington, DC, US, testifies in front of the hearing on Capital Hill on 25 June, 2025.
Kevin Mohat | Roots
He said that leadership disintegration also enhances concerns about the country’s ability to detect and respond to an emerging infectious disease as the CDC is “glue” that keeps individual doctors and state and local health departments together.
Benjamin said, “I am worried that we will not know on time, and we will pursue that disease.”
Benjamin stated that it is “a little confidence” that the Trump administration would find someone “highly competent” with relevant experience to change monarees.
“This is clearly more implications for everyone’s health and welfare, and there are huge implications around our nation’s finance,” he said. “Prevention and Kalyan saves us money, and public health is the best purchase.”
